Journal of vascular surgery
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Acute pulmonary embolism (PE) is a leading cause of cardiovascular mortality. Systemic anticoagulation is the standard of care, and treatment can be escalated in the setting of massive or submassive PE, given the high mortality risk. A secondary consideration for intervention is the prevention of late-onset chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. ⋯ Whereas systemic thrombolysis seems to be beneficial in the setting of massive PE, it appears to be associated with a higher rate of major complications compared with catheter-directed thrombolysis as shown in recent randomized trials for submassive PE. The hemodynamic and clinical outcomes continue to be defined to determine the indications for and benefits of intervention. The current review summarizes contemporary evidence on the role and outcomes of catheter-directed therapies in the treatment of acute massive and submassive PE.
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Bypass surgery is regularly performed for the treatment of critical limb ischemia, but the risk of occlusion remains significant. Antiplatelet therapy in patients with arterial disease is useful for secondary cardiovascular and bypass occlusion prevention. However, despite the common use of an antiplatelet agent, especially aspirin, which became the standard of care, the risk of graft occlusion persists. The best antithrombotic treatment for bypass patency therefore remains a matter of debate. ⋯ Although aspirin remains the first-line treatment to prevent infrainguinal bypass occlusion, future studies are needed to define stronger recommendations.
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Review Meta Analysis
A meta-analysis to compare Dacron versus polytetrafluroethylene grafts for above-knee femoropopliteal artery bypass.
Surgical revascularization for lower limb ischemia remains an important component for optimization of quality of life and symptoms in patients with peripheral arterial disease. In the absence of a vein graft, prosthetic alternatives are considered. The objective of this meta-analysis was to establish which prosthetic graft, Dacron or polytetrafluroethylene (PTFE), has the better long-term patency in patients undergoing an above-knee femoropopliteal arterial bypass. ⋯ Current evidence suggests that Dacron prosthetic grafts are superior to PTFE grafts in above-knee femoropopliteal arterial bypass procedures. Further randomized trials targeting standardization of confounding variables, particularly graft size and best medical therapy, are warranted.
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The aim of this systematic review is to describe the literature and assessment tools evaluating vascular surgical operative performance that could potentially be used for the assessment of educational outcomes applicable to the Milestone Project and the Next Accreditation System. ⋯ The literature describing assessment tools pertinent to vascular surgery is diverse. Existing assessment tools may be relevant to individual technical skill acquisition assessment; however, an operative assessment tool relevant to vascular/endovascular surgery and generalizable to the wide spectrum of technical and nontechnical skills pertinent to vascular surgery needs to be developed, validated, and implemented to allow the practical assessment of resident readiness to operate in an unsupervised setting.
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Review Meta Analysis
Bayesian network meta-analysis of nitinol stents, covered stents, drug-eluting stents, and drug-coated balloons in the femoropopliteal artery.
Several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have shown the superiority of some of these technologies over balloon angioplasty, but direct comparisons between these treatment options are lacking. The authors conducted a network meta-analysis of RCTs comparing bare nitinol stents, covered nitinol stents, paclitaxel- or sirolimus-eluting stents (PES or SES), and paclitaxel-coated balloons (PCB) with plain balloon angioplasty or with each other in the femoropopliteal artery (PROSPERO registry: CRD42013004845). ⋯ Immediate technical success is better with the use of covered stents, whereas paclitaxel-eluting stents and paclitaxel-coated balloons offer the best long-term results in the femoropopliteal artery.