[Does an attempt to save a limb always prolong the patient's life?] / Vsegda li popytka sokhranit' konechnost' prodlevaet zhizn' patsienta?

AIM: The purpose of the study was to examine overall survival and the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events, as well as economic expenditures for treatment of patients with occlusion of the femoropopliteal-tibial segment and critical ischaemia in low competence of the outflow channel, with a poor prognosis for endovascular or open revascularization of lower-limb arteries. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We studied the results of treating a total of 68 patients with lower-limb critical ischaemia and low parameters of the outflow channel competence. Primary arterial reconstruction was performed in 48 cases. At various terms after revascularization due to thrombosis of the reconstruction zone and the development of gangrene, amputation of the lower limb was performed: at 3 to 11 (n=25) and at 12 to 24 (n=25) months. Primary amputation of the lower limb was performed in 20 patients. The endpoints of the study included overall survival, the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events, and economic expenditures for the in-hospital treatment. The average duration of follow-up amounted to 2 years. RESULTS: The obtained findings demonstrated that in patients with lower-limb critical ischaemia and low parameters of the outflow channel competence, redo arterial reconstructions and amputation within 11 months, as well as a high level of surgical risk were associated with a low overall survival rate and the development of major adverse cardiovascular events in the remote period. Secondary surgical interventions on the major vessels significantly increased the cost of treatment.

[Antithrombotic therapy after bypass grafting below the inguinal ligament]. / Antitromboticheskaia terapiia posle shuntirovaniia nizhe pakhovoi sviazki.

The importance of antithrombotic therapy following reconstructive operations on arteries below the inguinal ligament is beyond question. The pharmaceutical market offers a wide variety of antiaggregant and anticoagulant agents, with many studies (including randomised and multicenter ones) performed worldwide on the problem of choosing optimal antithrombotic therapy in the postoperative period after arterial reconstructions. Nevertheless, the problem of selecting adequate antithrombotic therapy after shunting operations remains undetermined. Presented in the article is a review of foreign studies on the problem concerned. This is followed by discussing the results of many large international studies, including such trials as the BOA and CASPAR. Based on the findings obtained in these studies, Cochrane reviews, European and American guidelines, the authors express their opinion on the algorithms of choosing an appropriate variant of antithrombotic therapy during the postoperative period in patients after arterial reconstructions below the inguinal ligament.

[Remote results of carotid endarterectomy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus]. / Otdalennye rezul'taty karotidnoi éndarteréktomii u bol'nykh s sakharnym diabetom II tipa.

The authors comparatively analysed the remote results of carotid endarterectomy and risk factors for unfavourable outcomes in patients with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). The outcomes of carotid endarterectomy were studied in a total of 168 patients, with the follow-up terms up to 8 years. Depending on the presence or absence of DM, the patients were divided into two groups. Group One comprised 79 patients with an atherosclerotic lesion of the internal carotid artery and accompanying DM, with Group Two consisting of 89 non-diabetic patients. There were no lethal outcomes in the early postoperative period. The composite measure 'lethality + stroke' in Group One amounted to 2.5% and in Group Two to 2.2%. In the remote period the survival rate was as follows: 65 (82.3%) people for Group One and 83 (93.3%) for Group Two, with the 5-year cumulative survival rate amounting to 75.1±6.4% and 92.5±3.0%, respectively. The index of freedom from acute vascular complications (myocardial infarction, ischaemic stroke) at 5 years in Group One was 54.2±7.2% and in Group Two 86.1±4.3%. Acute vascular complications were causes of lethal outcomes in 13 cases in the group with DM and in 3 cases in the group without DM. Death was most often caused by acute coronary complications. The index of freedom from restenosis at 5 years in Group One amounted to 74.5±8.0% and at 7 years of follow-up in Group Two to 92.3±7.3%. The risk factors for the development of acute vascular complications in diabetic patients according to the findings of the Cox regression analysis were as follows: age above 65 years, DM duration of more than 5 years; the level of glycated haemoglobin above 7.5%; a history of myocardial infarction; presence of degree III arterial hypertension. The risk factors for restenosis included: DM duration of more than 5 years, the level of glycated haemoglobin above 7.5% and presence of degree III arterial hypertension. The results of the study make it possible to regard carotid endarterectomy efficient and safe for both cohorts of patients (with and without DM). In the remote postoperative period, such parameters as survival rate, indices of freedom from acute vascular complications and restenosis turned out to be statistically significantly lower in diabetic patients than in non-diabetic, with the predominating coronary complications induced by insufficient assessment of the coronary reserve and the presence of occult forms of ischaemic heart disease. Long-term results may be improved by means of widening the indications for performing coronarography in patients with DM.

[Assessment of surgical risk in patients with lower limb chronic critical ischaemia]. / Otsenka khirurgicheskogo riska u bol'nykh s khronicheskoi kriticheskoi ishemiei nizhnikh konechnostei.

Analysed herein are both immediate and remote results of surgical treatment of 93 patients presenting with chronic atherosclerotic occlusion of the femoral-popliteal-tibial segment in the stage of critical ischaemia. The patients were subjected to autovenous femoropopliteal bypass grafting to the isolated arterial segment or balloon angioplasty with stenting of the superficial femoral artery. While choosing the method of arterial reconstruction we assessed concomitant diseases, primarily lesions of the coronary and cerebral circulation. In order to objectively evaluate the patient state, we worked out a scale for assessing surgical risk. Survival rate without amputation after three years in patients with low risk amounted to 71.4%, in those with moderate risk to 60.0%, and in high-risk patients to 43.3%. Patients with initially high risk were found to have a high incidence rate of cardiac and cerebrovascular complications, exceeding 40%. It was shown that the worked out system of assessing the level of surgical risk objectively reflects the prognosis of patient survival following a reconstructive operation. This system of assessment may be appropriate while choosing an optimal method of arterial reconstruction (bypassing operation or endovascular intervention) in patients with atherosclerotic lesions of arteries of the femoropopliteal-tibial segment and critical ischaemia accompanied by severe concomitant pathology. Patients with high surgical risk should preferably be subjected to endovascular reconstruction, while those with low surgical risk should better undergo open shunting bypassing operation, and for those with moderate risk it is acceptable to perform both methods of arterial reconstruction.