MDCT
angiography leads to accurate recommendations for successful treatment of
patients with critical limb ischemia, sometimes allowing the patients to avoid
more complicated surgery, according to a study performed at the Medical
University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
The
study included 28 patients with severely blocked peripheral arteries. MDCT
angiography indicated that nine patients should undergo non-surgical
endovascular treatment such as percutaneous angioplasties or stent placement.
Seven patients had surgery and two had a combination of treatments. “MDCT
angiography identified the correct treatment in 18 patients,” said Rudiger Schernthaner, MD, lead author of the study. In addition,
MDCT angiography indicated that ten patients could or did not need to undergo
any treatment.
“The
reported incidence of peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) is 15.5 cases
per 1,000 person-years, and the prevalence is 4.5% among men older than 55,” he
said.
Our
findings indicate that MDCT angiography does lead to accurate recommendations in
the management of critical limb ischemia. It puts patients at a low risk for
developing complications and can be performed on an outpatient basis. This
compares to the current reference standard for complete delineation of the
peripheral arteries, digital subtraction angiography (DSA), which is a time- and
cost-intensive procedure during which the investigator and the patients are
exposed to ionizing radiation,” said Dr. Schernthaner.
— News release courtesy of The American
Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS)