EJVES April Headlines

The April 2023 issue opens with an Editorial: The Value of Studying Very Long Term Results (10 years or more) After Varicose Vein Treatment. Lena Blomgren and Marianne De Maesseneer discuss the great importance of studying long-term results in all treatments of varicose veins (read for free). As a consequence, it takes more than ten years before a new treatment option can be evaluated.

This month’s first Editor’s choice paper, by Magnus Jonsson et al. is Nationwide Outcome Analysis of Primary Carotid Endarterectomy in Symptomatic Patients depending on Closure Technique and Patch Type. The paper is also EJVES Open Access (read for free). Eleven-year outcomes of CEA in Sweden (n=9205) were analysed in three cross-matched registries. Primary closure was associated with higher immediate stroke risk, which has been reported previously. The interesting new information is how long-term results were affected by surgical technique and patch material.

The second Editor’s choice paper, by Letty V. van Vliet et al. is Interventions to Achieve Functionality in Newly Created Arteriovenous Fistulas in the Shunt Simulation Study Cohort. The paper is also EJVES Open Access (read for free). In this multicentre Dutch study, 222 patients needing a primary AVF were followed for one year. One-third needed additional intervention, and these AVFs with assisted functionality had similar patency as fistulas with unassisted functionality, supporting a proactive surveillance strategy!
Comes with an invited commentary by G.S. Georgiadis and R. Milner.

The third Editor’s choice paper, by Christian-Alexander Behrendt et al. is Prevalence of Peripheral Arterial Disease, Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm, and Risk Factors in the Hamburg City Health Study: A Cross-Sectional Analysis. The paper is also EJVES Open Access (read for free). A first report from the prospective population-based Hamburg City Health Study, of 10 000 participants aged 45 – 74 years. A high prevalence of PAD and smoking are reported. High quality contemporary data on CVD is expected from this cohort study.
Comes with an invited commentary by M.Teraa.

This issue also contains three ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS.
The first ISSUE HIGHLIGHT is Inter-hospital Transfer of Patients with Ruptured Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm in Switzerland by Alexander Zimmermann et al. In a series of 1798 Swiss rAAA patients, 63% were treated surgically and 27% of them were transferred between hospitals. A hot issue: how did hospital transfer and endovascular repair affect survival? EJVES Open Access link.

Long-term Results of a Randomized Trial of Stenting of the Superficial Femoral Artery for Intermittent Claudication by Thordur Gunnarsson et al. is also an ISSUE HIGHLIGHT. This RCT (n=100) reported a clinically significant increase of HRQoL after 12 and 24 months for SFA stenting for claudication. Now comes the results after 36 and 60 months answering the important question: are the results durable? EJVES Open Access link.
Comes with an invited commentary by M.A. Cairols.

The final ISSUE HIGHLIGHT is Management of Inflammatory Aortic Aneurysms: A Scoping Review by Xavier Berard et al. In this review of 55 papers, outcomes of 1554 inflammatory AAAs (1376 open surgery and 178  EVAR) are reported. Symptoms, diagnosis, medical treatment and outcomes are analysed. This is a must-read paper if you have a patient with this pathology! Link.

The April 2023 issue also features five additional EJVES Open Access papers.

Elevated EMMPRIN Serum Levels Indicate Plaque Vulnerability in Patients with Asymptomatic High Grade Carotid Stenosis by Christoph Neumayer et al. Histology of asymptomatic patients carotid plaques (n=265) were investigated for extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (EMMPRIN). Does this biomarker have a role in future risk stratification of asymptomatic patients? EJVES Open Access link.

Sit-to-stand Muscle Power is Related to Functional Ferformance at Baseline and After Supervised Exercise Training in Patients with Lower Extremity Peripheral Artery Disease by Stefano Lanzi et al. The sit to stand is a validated test to assess muscle power. The researchers tested 95 patients with intermittent claudication (IC) before and after supervised exercise training. Results were compared with other methods of assessing outcomes. An important future reference for researchers in IC. EJVES Open Access link.

Catheter directed thrombolysis for Not Immediately Threatened Acute Limb Ischaemia: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis by Sabrina A.N. Doelare et al. This paper addresses a controversial issue: What are the outcomes after CDT in patients with claudication only? The ALI Guidelines recommended against thrombolysis in patients with acute onset claudication. This review identified 39 studies, with 1861 patients, and reports both short and long-term results. Food for thought! EJVES Open Access link.

The Independent Impact of Peripheral Arterial Disease on Mortality in Nonagenarians and Centenarians Who were Treated in an Intensive Care Unit: A Consecutive Cohort of 1108 Patients by Christian-Alexander Behrendt et al. Among 1108 patients ≥ 90 years, treated at the ICU in Hamburg, Germany, 24% had either lower extremity PAD, AAA or carotid artery disease, associated with a worse prognosis. Further studies are needed to improve outcomes in this group. EJVES Open Access link.

Artificial Intelligence Outperforms Kaplan-Meier Analyses Estimating Survival after Elective Treatment of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms by Karl Sörelius et al. The authors used AAA data from the Danish vascular registry (n=7912) to compare the accuracy of survival estimates for Kaplan-Meier and artificial intelligence. And the winner is? EJVES Open Access link.
Comes with an invited commentary by A. Winarski and A .L. Tambyraja.