Journal of vascular surgery
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects of a long-term exercise program on lower limb mobility, physiological responses, walking performance, and physical activity levels in patients with peripheral arterial disease.
The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of a 12-month exercise program on lower limb mobility (temporal-spatial gait parameters and gait kinematics), walking performance, peak physiological responses, and physical activity levels in individuals with symptoms of intermittent claudication due to peripheral arterial disease (PAD-IC). ⋯ The results of this study confirm that a 12-month supervised exercise program will result in improved walking performance, but does not have an impact on lower limb mobility, peak physiological responses, or physical activity levels of PAD-IC patients.
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Informed consent discussions for elective abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair should reflect appropriate risks of the open or endovascular repair (EVAR), but few guidelines exist describing what surgeons should discuss. This study examines expert opinion regarding what constitutes informed consent. ⋯ This is the first study of the practice of informed consent for AAA repair. The only risk that the vast majority of surgeons agreed should be included in informed consent for AAA repair was mortality. Significant variation exists regarding whether other complications should be discussed and what complication rates should be quoted. Surgeon characteristics may influence how risks are presented to patients. Further efforts are needed to develop guidelines to ensure consistent communication of appropriate risk during informed consent for AAA repair.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study Controlled Clinical Trial
International controlled clinical trial of thoracic endovascular aneurysm repair with the Zenith TX2 endovascular graft: 1-year results.
This trial evaluated the safety and effectiveness of thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) with a contemporary endograft system compared with open surgical repair (open) of descending thoracic aortic aneurysms and large ulcers. ⋯ Thoracic endovascular aortic repair with the TX2 is a safer and effective alternative to open surgical repair for the treatment of anatomically suitable descending thoracic aortic aneurysms and ulcers at 1 year of follow-up. Device performance issues are infrequent, but careful planning and regular follow-up with imaging remain a necessity.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
The Glasgow Aneurysm Score as a tool to predict 30-day and 2-year mortality in the patients from the Dutch Randomized Endovascular Aneurysm Management trial.
Randomized trials have shown that endovascular repair (EVAR) of an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) has a lower perioperative mortality than conventional open repair (OR). However, this initial survival advantage disappears after 1 year. To make EVAR cost-effective, patient selection should be improved. The Glasgow Aneurysm Score (GAS) estimates preoperative risk profiles that predict perioperative outcomes after OR. It was recently shown to predict perioperative and long-term mortality after EVAR as well. Here, we applied the GAS to patients from the Dutch Randomized Endovascular Aneurysm Repair (DREAM) trial and compared the applicability of the GAS between open repair and EVAR. ⋯ This is the first evaluation of the GAS in a randomized trial comparing AAA patients treated with OR and EVAR. The GAS can be used for prediction of 30-day and 2-year mortality in both OR and EVAR, but in patients that are suitable for both procedures, it is a better predictor for EVAR than for OR patients. In this study, the GAS was most valuable in identifying low-risk patients but not very useful for the identification of the small number of high-risk patients.
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Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Safety of endovascular treatment of carotid artery stenosis compared with surgical treatment: a meta-analysis.
Since publication of previous meta-analyses comparing endovascular and surgical treatment of patients with carotid artery stenosis, two further large-scale trials have been conducted, almost doubling the number of patients available for analysis. Therefore, it is justified to update these meta-analyses. ⋯ The expressiveness of this meta-analysis is limited by the heterogeneity of some tests. The main result is that surgical treatment still remains the gold standard for treatment of patients with symptomatic carotid artery stenosis, who do not have an increased surgical risk. Carotid artery stenting is neither safer than nor as safe as carotid endarterectomy in large clinical trials when short-term stroke and death rates are taken into account. Further recruitment into ongoing randomized trials is strongly recommended.