PMID: 9174388May 1, 1997Paper

Effects of adjuvant PGE1 therapy following profundaplasty in patients with severe limb ischaemia. Early and long-term results

VASA. Zeitschrift für Gefässkrankheiten
J D Gruss

Abstract

In patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) of stage III/IV and three-level occlusion, the outcome of vascular surgery is still unsatisfactory. Therefore, the aim of our study was to determine both the short-term results and the long-term outcome, in terms of limb salvage and patient survival, of adjuvant intravenous prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) treatment in patients undergoing profundaplasty. A prospective randomized placebo-controlled study was conducted in 83 patients with PAOD of the lower extremities (stage III or IV according to Fontaine). Profundaplasty was carried out in all patients. Starting on the day of surgery and continuing for three weeks, patients of the PGE1 group (n = 42) received twice daily a 2-hour intravenous infusion of 60 micrograms PGE1 in 250 ml of physiological saline. Patients of the control group (n = 41) were given only saline by the same regimen. Following discharge from hospital, patients were re-examined after 6 weeks and subsequently every 6 months for a period of up to 5 years. Short-term results: In the PGE1 group, rest pain disappeared and necrotic lesions healed in a significantly larger proportion of patients as compared with the control group (62% vs 37%; p = 0.05). Moreover,...Continue Reading

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