Impact of endovascular treatment on clinical status and health-related quality of life

Background and Aims: Investigating the impact of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) on clinical status and health related quality of life in patients with claudication and critical limb ischaemia (CLI). Material and Methods: 61 patients and 64 limbs underwent a primary PTA (30 claudication and 34 CLI cases). Clinical status was graded according to Ahn and Rutherford and ankle/brachial index (ABI). Quality of life was assessed using the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) preoperatively, one month and one year after the procedure. Triplex scan evaluation of the treated arterial segment was carried out postoperatively and one year after the procedure. Results: Claudication: 24/27 patients underwent one-year follow up, after which 20/24 had no claudication. In triplex evaluation 17 (63.0%) treated segments were open with 0-50% restenosis, 9 (33.3%) with 51-99% restenosis and one (3.7%) was occluded. CLI: 13/34 (38.2%) patients underwent one-year follow-up after which eight patients (61.5%) were asymptomatic and five (38.1%) had claudication. In triplex evaluation there was 0-50% restenosis in 6 (46.2%) segments treated with PTA and 51-99% restenosis in 7 (53.8%) segments. 21 (61.8%) patients did not conclude the one year follow up: 7 had died, 5 had undergone bypass surgery and 6 an amputation and 3 did not attend the follow-up up for unknown reasons. Quality of life: For CLI patients, improvement was observed in the domain of pain, which continued throughout the follow-up period. Among the claudicants, the domain of physical mobility was improved at one month's follow-up, but this effect disappeared during the following year and could not be seen at one the one-year follow-up. Conclusions: Technical success and one-year results in claudication are good, and the rate of complications is low. However, although PTA resulted in an immediate improvement in the quality of life, this effect was not seen in the long term. In critical limb ischemia there was a group of patients in whom PTA led to a significant benefit in terms of limb salvage and quality of life.