Cost-effectiveness of the treatments for critical limb ischemia in the elderly population.

OBJECTIVE: The treatment of critical limb ischemia (CLI), with the intention to prevent limb loss, is often an intensive and expensive therapy. The aim of this study was to examine the cost-effectiveness of endovascular and conservative treatment of elderly CLI patients unsuitable for surgery. METHODS: In this prospective observational cohort study, data were gathered in two Dutch peripheral hospitals. CLI patients aged 70 years or older were included in the outpatient clinic. Exclusion criteria were malignant disease, lack of language skills, and cognitive impairment; 195 patients were included and 192 patients were excluded. After a multidisciplinary vascular conference, patients were divided into three treatment groups (endovascular revascularization, surgical revascularization, or conservative therapy). Subanalyses based on age were made (70-79 years and ≥80 years). The follow-up period was 2 years. Cost-effectiveness of endovascular and conservative treatment was quantified using incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) in euros per quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). RESULTS: At baseline, patients allocated to surgical revascularization had better health states, but the health states of endovascular revascularization and conservative therapy patients were comparable. With an ICER of €38,247.41/QALY (∼$50,869/QALY), endovascular revascularization was cost-effective compared with conservative therapy. This is favorable compared with the Dutch applicable threshold of €80,000/QALY (∼$106,400/QALY). The subanalyses also established that endovascular revascularization is a cost-effective alternative for conservative treatment both in patients aged 70 to 79 years (ICER €29,898.36/QALY; ∼$39,765/QALY) and in octogenarians (ICER €56,810.14/QALY; ∼$75,557/QALY). CONCLUSIONS: Our study has shown that endovascular revascularization is cost-effective compared with conservative treatment of CLI patients older than 70 years and also in octogenarians. Given the small absolute differences in costs and effects, physicians should also consider individual circumstances that can alter the outcome of the intervention. Cost-effectiveness remains one of the aspects to take into consideration in making a clinical decision.

Quality of Life and Mortality after Endovascular, Surgical, or Conservative Treatment of Elderly Patients Suffering from Critical Limb Ischemia.

BACKGROUND: Revascularization to relieve ischemic pain and prevent limb loss is the cornerstone of critical limb ischemia (CLI) treatment; however, not all elderly patients are deemed fit for revascularization. Patient-related outcome measurements are important in these patients. Quality of life (QoL) results regarding the effect of endovascular, surgical, and conservative treatment on the QoL in the elderly are scarce in the current literature. The goal of this study was to explore the outcomes of the different treatment modalities in elderly patients suffering from CLI, with a specific focus on QoL. METHODS: A total of 195 CLI patients ≥70 years were prospectively included between January 2012 and February 2016 and divided into 6 groups (endovascular revascularization, surgical revascularization, and conservative treatment). Two age groups (70-79 and >80 years) were analyzed. Follow-up was performed at 5-7 days, 6 weeks, and 6 months. World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF questionnaire was used to determine QoL. The Vascular-Physiological and Operative Severity Score for Enumeration of Mortality and Morbidity score was noted. QoL was used as the primary end point, with mortality and limb salvage as the secondary end points. RESULTS: Six-month mortality was significantly lower in surgically treated patients aged 70-79 years (4%) as compared with endovascular (24%, P = 0.001) or conservative treatment (25%, P = 0.02). There was no significant difference in 6-month mortality in patients >80 years among endovascularly (38%), surgically (15%), and conservatively treated patients (27%). QoL significantly increased at all follow-up moments in surgically treated patients between 70 and 79 years and at 6 months in endovascularly treated patients. Conservatively treated patients did not improve their QoL in this age group. All patients aged >80 years, including conservatively treated patients, showed significantly improved QoL results at 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: Elderly patients judged fit for surgery may benefit the most from surgical revascularization, reporting low mortality rates, low adverse events and significantly gained QoL in multiple domains. However, all 3 treatment modalities have significantly increased physical health at 6 months. Conservative therapy seems to be an acceptable treatment option in patients unfit for revascularization with gained physical health at 6 months.

The clinical applicability of an automated plethysmographic determination of the ankle-brachial index after vascular surgery.

An automated ankle-brachial index device could lead to potential time savings and more accuracy in ankle-brachial index-determination after vascular surgery. This prospective cross-sectional study compared postprocedural ankle-brachial indices measured by a manual method with ankle-brachial indices of an automated plethysmographic method. Forty-two patients were included. No significant difference in time performing a measurement was observed (1.1 min, 95% CI: -0.2 to +2.4; P = 0.095). Mean ankle-brachial index with the automated method was 0.105 higher (95% CI: 0.017 to 0.193; P = 0.020) than with the manual method, with limits of agreement of -0.376 and +0.587. Total variance amounted to 0.0759 and the correlation between both methods was 0.60. Reliability expressed as maximum absolute difference (95% level) between duplicate ankle-brachial index-measurements under identical conditions was 0.350 (manual) and 0.152 (automated), although not significant (p = 0.053). Finally, the automated method had 34% points higher failure rate than the manual method. In conclusion based on this study, the automated ankle-brachial index-method seems not to be clinically applicable for measuring ankle-brachial index postoperatively in patients with vascular disease.

Multicomponent Prehabilitation as a Novel Strategy for Preventing Delirium in Older Chronic Limb Threatening Ischemia Patients: A Study Protocol.

Objective: Chronic limb threatening ischemia is the final stage of peripheral arterial disease. Current treatment is based on revascularization to preserve the leg. In the older, hospitalized chronic limb threatening ischemia patient, delirium is a frequent and severe complication after revascularization. Delirium leads to an increased length of hospital stay, a higher mortality rate and a decrease in quality of life. Currently, no specific guidelines to prevent delirium in chronic limb threatening ischemia patients exist. We aim to evaluate the effect of a multicomponent, multidisciplinary prehabilitation program on the incidence of delirium in chronic limb threatening ischemia patients ≥65 years. Design: A prospective observational cohort study to investigate the effects of the program on the incidence of delirium will be performed in a large teaching hospital in the Netherlands. This manuscript describes the design of the study and the content of this specific prehabilitation program. Methods: Chronic limb threatening ischemia patients ≥65 years that require revascularization will participate in the program. This program focuses on optimizing the patient's overall health and includes delirium risk assessment, nutritional optimization, home-based physical therapy, iron infusion in case of anaemia and a comprehensive geriatric assessment in case of frailty. The primary outcome is the incidence of delirium. Secondary outcomes include quality of life, amputation-free survival, length of hospital stay and mortality. Exclusion criteria are the requirement of acute treatment or patients who are mentally incompetent to understand the procedures of the study or to complete questionnaires. A historical cohort from the same hospital is used as a control group. Discussion: This study will clarify the effect of a prehabilitation program on delirium incidence in chronic limb threatening ischemia patients. New insights will be obtained on optimizing a patient's preoperative mental and physical condition to prevent postoperative complications, including delirium. Trial: This protocol is registered at the Netherlands National Trial Register (NTR) number: NL9380.

Quality of Life and Traditional Outcome Results at 1 Year in Elderly Patients Having Critical Limb Ischemia and the Role of Conservative Treatment.

INTRODUCTION: Revascularization is the cornerstone of the treatment of critical limb ischemia (CLI), but the number of elderly frail patients increase. Revascularization is not always possible in these patients and conservative therapy seems to be an option. The goals of this study are to analyze the 1-year quality of life (QoL) results and mortality rates of elderly patients with CLI and to investigate if conservative treatment could be an acceptable treatment option. METHODS: Patients with CLI ≥70 years old were included in a prospective observational cohort study in 2 hospitals in the Netherlands between 2012 and 2016 and were divided over 3 treatment modalities: endovascular therapy, surgical revascularization, and conservative treatment. The World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQoL-Bref) instrument, a generic QoL assessment tool that includes components of physical, psychological, social relationships and environment, was used to evaluate QoL at baseline, 6 months, and 1 year. RESULTS: In total, 195 patients (56% male, 33% Rutherford 4, mean age of 80) were included. Physical QoL significantly increased after surgical (10.4 vs 14.9, P < .001), endovascular (10.9 vs 13.7, P < .001), and conservative therapy (11.6 vs 13.2, P = .01) at 1 year. One-year mortality was relatively low after surgery (10%) compared to endovascular (40%) and conservative therapy (37%). CONCLUSION: The results of this study could not be used to designate the superior treatment used in elderly patients with CLI. Conservative treatment could be an acceptable treatment option in selected patients with CLI unfit for revascularization. Treatment of choice in elderly patients with CLI is based on multiple factors and should be individualized in a shared decision-making process.

Important differences between quality of life and health status in elderly patients suffering from critical limb ischemia.

INTRODUCTION: Critical limb ischemia (CLI) patients are often of advanced age with reduced health status (HS) and quality of life (QoL) at baseline. Physical health is considered as the most affected domain due to reduced mobility and ischemic pain. QoL and HS are often used interchangeably in the current literature. HS refers to objectively perceived physical, psychological, and social functioning and in assessing QoL, change is measured subjectively and can only be determined by the individual since it concerns patients' evaluation of their functioning. It is important to distinguish between QoL and HS, especially in the concept of shared decision-making when the opinion of the patient is key. Goal of this study was to examine and compare QoL and HS in elderly CLI patients in relation to the used therapy, with a special interest in conservatively treated patients. METHODS: Patients suffering from CLI and ≥70 years old were included in a prospective study with a follow-up period of 1 year. Patients were divided into three groups; endovascular revascularization, surgical revascularization, and conservative therapy. The WHOQoL-Bref was used to determine QoL, and the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey was used to evaluate HS at baseline, 5-7 days, 6 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year. RESULTS: Physical QoL of endovascularly and surgically treated patients showed immediate significant improvement during follow-up in contrast to delayed increased physical HS at 6 weeks and 6 months (P<0.001). Conservatively treated patients showed significantly improved physical QoL at 6 and 12 months (P=0.02) in contrast to no significant improvement in physical HS. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that QoL and HS are indeed not identical concepts and that differentiating between these two concepts could influence the choice of treatment in elderly CLI patients. Discriminating between QoL and HS is, therefore, of major importance for clinical practice, especially to achieve shared decision-making.