In recent years, the advent of endovascular techniques has made possible the treatment of high-risk surgical patients. Nevertheless, the risk of short- and long-term complications is not insignificant. A surveillance program is therefore required to identify any possible complications and to monitor the efficacy of the treatment over time. In the various studies concerning follow-up after endovascular treatment for aortic aneurysm, computed tomography angiography is considered the “gold-standard.” Duplex ultrasonography provides accurate information regarding the patency of the stent graft and the evolution of the aneurysm sac size but is characterized by low sensitivity and specificity in the identification of endoleaks, which ranges from 70% to 90%. The use of contrast agents seems to increase the sensitivity in the identification of endoleaks. We evaluated the efficacy of contrast agents in the follow-up of patients after endovascular treatment and to compare results obtained from computed tomography angiography.

Infrared thermography (IRT) is a promising imaging method in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD). This systematic review aims to provide an up-to-date overview of the employment of IRT as both a diagnostic method and an outcome measure in PAD patients in relation to any kind of intervention. On September 2022, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and gray literature were screened. Eligible articles employing IRT in PAD were screened for possible inclusion. The RoB 2.0 tool was used to assess the risk of bias. Twenty-one eligible articles were finally included, recruiting a total of 1078 patients. The IRT was used for PAD diagnosis/monitoring in 11 studies or to assess the effect of interventions (revascularization, pharmacological therapy, or exercise rehabilitation) in 10 studies. The analysis of the included papers raised high concerns about the overall quality of the studies. In conclusion, IRT as a noninvasive technique showed promising results in detecting foot perfusion in PAD patients. However, limits related to devices, points of reference, and measurement conditions need to be overcome by properly designed trials before recommending its implementation in current vascular practice.