Percutaneous Transluminal Angioplasty in Patients With Infrapopliteal Arterial Disease

BACKGROUND: Contemporary outcomes of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty for the treatment of infrapopliteal atherosclerotic lesions are not well characterized. Hence, a systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to determine the safety and effectiveness of this approach in patients with advanced below-the-knee arterial disease. METHODS AND RESULTS: MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were searched for contemporary studies (2005-2015) on the effects of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty for the treatment of infrapopliteal lesions. A random effects meta-analysis model was used to analyze procedural (technical success, flow-limiting dissection, provisional stent placement) and long-term (primary patency, repeat revascularization, major amputation, all-cause mortality) outcomes. Ultimately, 52 studies encompassing 6769 patients with 9399 below-the-knee lesions were included in the analysis. Technical success was 91.1% (95% confidence interval CI, 88.8-93.0), and the incidence of flow-limiting dissections and bailout stenting was 5.6% (95% CI, 3.2-9.8) and 9.1% (95% CI, 6.3-12.9), respectively. Outcomes at 1 year were primary patency, 63.1% (95% CI, 57.3-68.6); repeat revascularization, 18.2% (95% CI, 14.5-22.6); major amputation, 14.9% (95% CI, 12.3-18.0); and all-cause mortality, 15.1% (95% CI, 12.8-17.7). Significant heterogeneity and publication bias were observed for most percutaneous transluminal angioplasty outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Contemporary studies of the use of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty as primary treatment for patients with infrapopliteal arterial disease reveal suboptimal procedural and 1-year clinical outcomes.