Assessment of the burden of disease for patients with peripheral artery disease undergoing revascularization in England.

Background: Symptoms, severity, and acuteness of peripheral artery disease (PAD) are major determinants of severe limb symptoms, subsequent risk of cardiovascular events, and mortality. Lower-extremity revascularization (LER) is a key option to relieve symptoms and to prevent limb loss in symptomatic patients with PAD. This study aimed to quantify the burden of disease among patients with PAD-LER in England. Methods: A retrospective population-based study of linked primary and secondary care electronic health records, included 13,869 adult patients (aged ⩾ 18 years) with PAD-LER from 2003 to 2018. The incidence of first ever PAD-LER was estimated both overall and by type of procedure (endovascular/surgical). Health resource utilization associated with PAD-related complications and treatment patterns were assessed. Results: A high annual incidence of lower-limb revascularization (41.2 per 1000 person years) and a nearly double incidence of endovascular first revascularization compared with open surgery were observed. More than 70% of patients with PAD-LER had a history of hyperlipidemia and hypertension and roughly one-third were diabetic and had a history of coronary artery disease. Cardiovascular mortality accounted for one-third (34.1 per 1000 person years) of all-cause mortality. Over 93% of patients were hospitalized for any reason and the commonest reasons for hospitalization were cardiovascular diseases and PAD with about one-third hospitalized for revascularization reoccurrence. Conclusion: There is a significant burden of PAD-LER to the individual and society with ongoing healthcare resource utilization, treatment, and increasing mortality.

A Targeted Literature Review of the Disease Burden in Patients With Symptomatic Peripheral Artery Disease.

Patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) have an increased risk of cardiovascular (CV) and limb events, but the disease is frequently underdiagnosed and treatment options are limited. This review examines the disease burden of symptomatic PAD as well as key guideline recommendations. Publications were identified using the ProQuest portal to access the Medline, Medline In-Process, and Embase databases. Search terms for symptomatic PAD were combined with terms relevant to epidemiology, burden, treatment practice, and physiopathology. Articles in English published between January 2001 and September 2016 were screened according to the population, interventions, comparator, outcomes, and study design criteria. Relevant publications (n = 200) were identified. The reported incidence and prevalence of PAD varied depending on the definitions used and the study populations. Patients generally had a poor prognosis, with an increased risk of mortality, CV, and limb events and decreased quality of life. Guideline recommendations included ankle-brachial index measurements, exercise testing, and angiography for diagnosis and risk factor modification, antiplatelets, cilostazol, exercise therapy, or surgical interventions for treatment, depending on the patient profile. The clinical, humanistic, and economic burden of disease in patients with symptomatic PAD is substantial and needs to be reduced through improved PAD management.

[Anti-Thrombotic Therapy of Peripheral Arterial Disease - A Review of Current Evidence, Practice and Outlook]. / Antithrombotische Therapie der peripheren arteriellen Verschlusskrankheit ­ ein Überblick über aktuelle Evidenz, Praxis und Ausblick.

Peripheral arterial occlusive disease is a frequent and chronic vascular disorder mostly affecting the lower limbs and caused by fibrous plaques in arteries that can result in stenoses and thrombi. Patients suffering from this condition show a high risk for cardiovascular complications of the complete arterial vascular system, especially post-procedural. Thus, there is a need to optimize anti-thrombotic therapy. Data on multiple antiplatelet aggregation therapy including new drug classes are expected in the coming years. In addition, recent studies showed that direct oral anticoagulation provided clinical advantages combined with a reasonable safety profile. Management of risk factors such as overweight and nicotine and correction of metabolic disorders are not to be ignored and the background to further therapy. All treating physicians should be aware of these aspects to guarantee an optimal care and motivation of their patients.

Health-related quality of life and mortality in patients with pulmonary embolism: a prospective cohort study in seven European countries.

PURPOSE: Little is known about the quality of life following pulmonary embolism (PE). The aim of the study was to assess the 12-month illness burden in terms of health-related quality of life (HrQoL) and mortality, in relation to differences in patient characteristics. METHODS: The PREFER in VTE registry, a prospective, observational study conducted in seven European countries, was used. Within 2 weeks following an acute symptomatic PE, patients were recruited and followed up for 12 months. Associations between patient characteristics and HrQoL (EQ-5D-5L) and mortality were examined using a regression approach. RESULTS: Among 1399 PE patients, the EQ-5D-5L index score at baseline was 0.712 (SD 0.265), which among survivors gradually improved to 0.835 (0.212) at 12 months. For those patients with and without active cancer, the average index score at baseline was 0.658 (0.275) and 0.717 (0.264), respectively. Age and previous stroke were significant factors for predicting index scores in those with/without active cancer. Bleeding events but not recurrences had a noticeable impact on the HrQoL of patients without active cancer. The 12-month mortality rate post-acute period was 8.1%, ranging from 1.4% in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria to 16.8% in Italy. Mortality differed between patients with active cancer and those without (42.7% vs. 4.7%). CONCLUSION: PE is associated with a substantial decrease in HrQoL at baseline which normalizes following treatment. PE is associated with a high mortality rate especially in patients with cancer, with significant country variation. Bleeding events, in particular, impact the burden of PE.

Burden of Coronary Artery Disease and Peripheral Artery Disease: A Literature Review.

BACKGROUND: Atherothrombotic disease, including coronary artery disease (CAD) and peripheral artery disease (PAD), can lead to cardiovascular (CV) events, such as myocardial infarction, stroke, limb ischemia, heart failure, and CV death. AIM: Evaluate the humanistic and economic burden of CAD and PAD and identify unmet needs through a comprehensive literature review. METHODS: Relevant search terms were applied across online publication databases. Studies published between January 2010 and August 2017 meeting the inclusion/exclusion criteria were selected; guidelines were also included. Two rounds of screening were applied to select studies of relevance. RESULTS: Worldwide data showed approximately 5-8% prevalence of CAD and 10-20% prevalence of PAD, dependent on the study design, average age, gender, and geographical location. Data from the REACH registry indicated that 18-35% of patients with CAD and 46-68% of patients with PAD had disease in one or more vascular beds. Use of medication to control modifiable CV risk factors was variable by country (lower in France than in Canada); statins and aspirin were the most widely used therapies in patients with chronic disease. Survival rates have improved with medical advancements, but there is an additional need to improve the humanistic burden of disease (i.e., associated disability and quality of life). The economic burden of atherothrombotic disease is high and expected to increase with increased survival and the aging population. CONCLUSION: CAD and PAD represent a substantial humanistic and economic burden worldwide, highlighting a need for new interventions to reduce the incidence of atherothrombotic disease.

Pulmonary embolism in Europe - Burden of illness in relationship to healthcare resource utilization and return to work.

OBJECTIVES: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is associated with a substantial economic burden. However evidence from patients in Europe is scarce. The aim of this study was to report the impacts of PE on healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and return to work using the PREFER in VTE registry. METHODS: The PREFER in VTE registry was a prospective, observational, multicenter study in seven European countries, aiming to provide data concerning treatment patterns, HCRU, mortality, quality of life and work-loss. Patients with a first-time or recurrent PE were included and followed up at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. Treatment patterns, re-hospitalization rates, length of hospital stays (LOS), and ambulatory/office visits, as well as proportion of patients returning to work, were assessed. Subgroups by country and with/without active cancer were examined separately. Zero-inflated negative binomial and Cox regression were applied to investigate the relationship between baseline characteristics and LOS and return to work, respectively. RESULTS: Amongst 1399 patients with PE, 53.2% were male and the average age was 62.3 ±â€¯17.1 years old. Overall, patients were treated with combinations of heparin, vitamin K antagonists (VKA) and the non-VKA oral anticoagulants (NOACs) (50.0% treated with the combination of heparin with VKA). Patients with active cancer were primarily treated with heparin (84.9%). NOACs were used more frequently in DACH (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and France (55.2% and 32.6%) compared to Italy and Spain (4.5% and 6.1%). The VTE-related re-hospitalization rate within 12 months and the average LOS varied substantially between countries, from 26.2% in UK to 12.3% in France, and from 12.9 days in Italy to 3.9 days in France. PE patients were often co-managed by general practitioners in France and DACH (>84%), and less frequently in other countries (<47%). The regression results confirmed the country variation of HCRU. Of the employed patients (n = 385), 60% returned to work at 1 month but 27.8% had not after one year. PE patients with DVT were more likely to return to work. Active cancer was a significant predictor for not returning to work, as well as smoking history. CONCLUSIONS: Medical treatment of PE differed between patients with active cancer and patients without active cancer. VTE-related resource utilization differed markedly between countries. While the reported 'not return to work' was high for patients with PE, this may at least in part reflect the presence of co-morbidities such as cancer.

Impact of gender on the clinical presentation and diagnosis of deep-vein thrombosis.

It is uncertain whether gender influences the clinical presentation of deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) and the discriminative value of the Wells diagnostic pretest probability score. The aim of the study was to determine whether gender impacts the clinical presentation and diagnosis of DVT. The study analysed a cohort of 4,976 outpatients with clinically suspected DVT of the leg prospectively recruited by 326 vascular medicine physicians in the German ambulatory care sector between October and December 2005. The diagnosis of DVT was based on compression ultrasonography in 96% of patients. Among 4,777 patients who had a diagnostic work-up for DVT there were more women (n=2,998) than men (n=1,779). However, the prevalence of confirmed DVT was 37.0% (658/1779) in men vs. 24.3% (730/2,998) in women (p<0.001). Among patients with confirmed DVT, proximal DVT was more common in men (59.6% vs. 44.5% in women, p<0.001). Swelling of the leg, pitting oedema and dilated superficial veins were more frequently reported by men (p<0.001). The percentage of patients with a high probability Wells clinical pretest score was higher in men than in women (67.0% vs. 57.0%, p<0.001). However, overall, the score equally discriminated risk groups for DVT in both sexes. In conclusion, women were more frequently referred for a diagnostic work-up for DVT than men, but the prevalence of DVT was higher in men and their thrombotic events were more severe. Nevertheless, the Wells clinical pretest probability score correctly identified low- and high-risk groups in both genders.