ZILVERPASS Study: ZILVER PTX Stent vs. Bypass Surgery in Femoropopliteal Lesions, 3 year results and economic analysis.

BACKGROUND: To report the 3-year safety and effectiveness results of a multicenter, prospective, randomized controlled trial comparing the ZILVER PTX paclitaxel-eluting stent to surgical bypass and to conduct a health economic analysis up to 3-year follow-up of the two treatment modalities. METHODS: This is a study in symptomatic TransAtlantic Inter-Society Consensus (TASC) C and D femoropopliteal lesions comparing endovascular ZILVER PTX stenting vs. surgical bypass surgery using a prosthetic graft (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01952457). Between October 2013 and July 2017, 220 patients (mean age 68.6±10.5 years; 159 men) were enrolled and randomized to the ZILVER PTX treatment group (113, 51.40%) or the bypass treatment group (107, 48.60%). One of the secondary outcomes was primary patency at 3-year, defined as no evidence of binary restenosis or occlusion within the target lesion or bypass graft based on a duplex ultrasound peak systolic velocity ratio <2.4 and no clinically-driven target lesion revascularization (TLR) in endovascular cases or reintervention to restore flow in the bypass. An economic analysis was conducted to analyze the cost differences between ZILVER PTX and bypass, which shows the perspective of the public authority/organization that pays for healthcare in the two countries (payor), Germany and USA. RESULTS: The 3-year primary patency rate was 53.30% (95% CI 61.40% to 45.20%) for the ZILVER PTX group vs. 58.20% (95% CI 67.10% to 49.30%) for the bypass arm (P=0.9721). Freedom from TLR at 3-year was 62.80% (95% CI 72.60% to 53%) for the ZILVER PTX group vs. 65.30% (95% CI 75.40% to 55.20%) for the bypass group (P=0.635). There was also no significant difference (P=0.358) in survival rate at 3-year between the ZILVER PTX group 78.50%, (95% CI to 87.70% to 69.30%) and the bypass group 87.40% (95% CI 97.6% to 77.2%). None of the deaths was categorized as related to the procedure or device. The economic analysis, taking into account procedural-, hospitalization- and reintervention costs, showed a clear cost-benefit for Zilver PTX in both investigated countries up to 3-year follow-up: Germany (Bypass €9446 per patient versus ZILVER PTX €5755) and USA (Bypass $26,373 per patient versus ZILVER PTX $19,186). CONCLUSIONS: The non-inferior safety and effectiveness results of the ZILVER PTX stent were associated with lower costs for the payer and confirmed that ZILVER PTX stent treatment can be considered as a valid alternative for bypass surgery in long and complex femoropopliteal lesions.

Endovascular suture versus cutdown for endovascular aneurysm repair: a prospective randomized pilot study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate safety and cost benefits of the percutaneous technique for treatment of aortic aneurysm, a prospective randomized study was performed that compared the endovascular suture technique with conventional cutdown access and repair. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 2002 through July 2002, 30 endografts, including 14 Talent stent-grafts (Medtronic, Sunrise, Fla) and 16 Zenith endografts (Cook, Bloomington, Ind) were implanted in 30 patients for endovascular aneurysm treatment. The patients were randomized to either percutaneous technique (group A) or conventional cutdown (group B). Fifty-five femoral arteries were cannulated with large-bore (14F-25F) introducers and were included in the study. Safety and efficiency of both techniques were assessed by recording the complication rates, operation time, discharge, and time to ambulation. Comparison of selected estimated costs included both variable and fixed costs for femoral access and expenses for treatment of complications. RESULTS: No operative deaths occurred. The complication rates were similar and included 1 arterial thrombosis in each group, 3 lymphoceles in group B, and 1 conversion to cutdown because of bleeding in group A. Mean surgery time (86.7 +/- 27 minutes vs 107.8 +/- 38.5 minutes; P <.05) and time to ambulation (20.1 +/- 4.3 hours vs 33.1 +/- 18.4 hours; P <.001) were significantly shorter in the group treated percutaneously. Because of the cost of the closure device, total cost of the percutaneous technique averaged 99.2 euro; more than cutdown. CONCLUSIONS: The percutaneous technique decreases the invasiveness of endovascular therapy of aortic aneurysm and reduces operative time and time to ambulation. Complications were roughly equivalent in severity. The additional cost for the device appears to justify its use for this form of aneurysm treatment.