Effectiveness of Intravenous Ilomedin Infusion and Smoking Cessation in the Treatment of Acutely Symptomatic Buerger Disease. (February 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Spanos, Kostas; Georgiou, Evangelia; Saleptsis, Vassileios; Athanasoulas, Athanasios; Sakkas, Lazaros; Giannoukas, Athanasios D.
• Is Part Of: Angiology. Volume 66:Number 2(2015)
• Page Start: 114
• Page End: 117
• Publication Date: 2015-02
• Subjects: Buerger disease -- iloprost -- smoking -- amputation -- walking distance -- quality of life; Blood-vessels -- Diseases -- Periodicals; Cardiovascular system -- Diseases -- Periodicals; 616.13005
• DOI: 10.1177/0003319713516379
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0003-3197

Abstract

We assessed the effectiveness of iloprost treatment in the management of symptomatic Buerger disease (BD) and assessed smoking cessation compliance, based on a single-center experience. Thirteen patients with BD were treated with sessions of intravenous (IV) Ilomedin infusion. At 1-year follow-up, pain status alteration, number of analgesics required, ankle–brachial index (ABI) change, compliance with supervised smoking cessation, and amputation-free rate were recorded. The pain status improved considerably according to a visual analog scale, the number of analgesics required was significantly reduced, and all patients improved their pain-free walking distance, the ABI, and their self-reported quality of life. Only 2 patients required minor amputations. Combination of IV Ilomedin infusion, supervised smoking cessation, and a specific follow-up protocol may lead to improvement in pain-free walking distance, pain status, quality of life, and substantial reduction in amputation risk.