Integrated approach to treatment of inoperable patients with critical lower limb ischemia and diabetes mellitus: results and prospects

INTRODUCTION: The question of the optimal methods of conservative treatment of patients with critical lower limb ischemia (CLLI) and diabetes mellitus (DM) is still open. AIM: To evaluate the long-term results of therapeutic treatment of patients with CLLI and DM whose peripheral vascular bed is unsuitable for reconstruction, or who refused surgical treatment for different reasons, and to determine effectiveness of additional angiogenesis in this group of patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The work involved 65 patients with CLLI and DM who were divided to 2 groups. The control group of patients (40 individuals) received a course of conventional therapy. In the study group (25 individuals), additional exogenous stimulation of angiogenesis was used with angiogenic vascular endothelial growth factor. Subsequently, instrumental parameters of limb perfusion were assessed within 6 months, and in the long-term period (5 years), limb preservation and mortality in this group. RESULTS: Exogenous stimulation of angiogenesis permits to improve the following 6-month treatment results (8% of deaths and 20% of amputations in the study group versus 15% of deaths and 42.5% of amputations in the same period in the control group), and permits to maintain this trend within 5 years of follow-up (64% of deaths and 72% of amputations in the study group versus 80% of deaths and 87.5% of amputations in the control group). Reliable differences between the groups in the frequency of amputations were observed on visits in 6 months (p = 0.041) and in 1 year of follow-up (p = 0.048). According to instrumental data, the best parameters in terms of the painless walking distance (p = 0.032) and transcutaneous oxygen tension were obtained in the study group by 6 months of follow-up (p = 0.028). CONCLUSIONS: Therapeutic angiogenesis improves the results of treatment of patients with CLLI and diabetes mellitus, especially in 6 months — 2 years interval, however, conservative therapy still demonstrates unsatisfactory results of treatment in the near and in the long terms.