MDCT angiography leads to successful treatment of severely blocked arteries in the legs

June 3, 2009

MDCT angiography leads to accurate recommendations for successful treatment of patients with critical limb ischemia, sometimes allowing the patients to avoid more complicated surgery, according to a study performed at the Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.

The study included 28 patients with severely blocked peripheral arteries. MDCT angiography indicated that nine patients should undergo non-surgical endovascular treatment such as percutaneous angioplasties or stent placement. Seven patients had surgery and two had a combination of treatments. "MDCT angiography identified the correct treatment in 18 patients," said Rudiger Schernthaner, MD, lead author of the study. In addition, MDCT angiography indicated that ten patients could or did not need to undergo any treatment.

"The reported incidence of peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) is 15.5 cases per 1,000 person-years, and the prevalence is 4.5% among men older than 55," he said.

Our findings indicate that MDCT angiography does lead to accurate recommendations in the management of critical limb ischemia. It puts patients at a low risk for developing complications and can be performed on an outpatient basis. This compares to the current reference standard for complete delineation of the peripheral arteries, digital subtraction angiography (DSA), which is a time- and cost-intensive procedure during which the investigator and the patients are exposed to ionizing radiation," said Dr. Schernthaner.

This study appears in the May issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

Source: American Roentgen Ray Society