Journal of vascular surgery
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Comparative Study
Predictive models for mortality after ruptured aortic aneurysm repair do not predict futility and are not useful for clinical decision making.
The clinical decision-making utility of scoring algorithms for predicting mortality after ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (rAAAs) remains unknown. We sought to determine the clinical utility of the algorithms compared with our clinical decision making and outcomes for management of rAAA during a 10-year period. ⋯ Clinical algorithms for predicting mortality after rAAA were not useful for predicting futility. Most patients with rAAA were not classified in the highest-risk group by the clinical decision models. Among patients identified as highest risk, predicted mortality was overestimated compared with actual mortality. The data from this study support the limited value to surgeons of the currently published algorithms.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The effect of supervised exercise therapy for intermittent claudication on lower limb lean mass.
Supervised exercise is currently recommended for the first-line treatment of intermittent claudication based on improvement in walking capacity. However, the promotion of skeletal muscle atrophy by repetitive ischemia-reperfusion caused by treadmill-based programs remains a concern. Because preservation of skeletal muscle mass (SMM) and lean mass (LM) is integral to functional capacity and longevity, this study measured the effect of standard treadmill-based supervised exercise on SMM and regional lower limb LM in patients with intermittent claudication. ⋯ Twelve weeks of standard treadmill-training for intermittent calf claudication did not result in loss of calf LM; however, a significant decrease in bilateral thigh LM was observed, even in patients with unilateral symptoms. Further research on optimum exercise modalities and end points are required to determine the pathophysiology and effects of these changes on function and survival.
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Comparative Study
Contemporary comparison of aortofemoral bypass to alternative inflow procedures in the Veteran population.
Multiple vascular inflow reconstruction options exist for claudication, including aortofemoral bypass (AFB) and alternative inflow procedures (AIPs) such as femoral reconstruction with iliac stents, and femoral-femoral, iliofemoral, and axillofemoral bypass. Contemporary multi-institution comparison of these techniques is lacking. ⋯ For claudicant patients with inflow disease, AFB has higher rates of 30-day complications and a trend toward higher mortality; however by 90 days postoperatively, the two procedure types have similar rates of mortality.