Critical limb ischemia update and the evolving role of drug-elution technologies

Abstract

Critical limb ischemia (CLI) is a prevalent condition associated with cardiovascular mortality and limb loss. Areas covered: This review discusses the epidemiology of CLI, revascularization options, and drug-elution therapies. Expert commentary: Drug-eluting stents (DES) and drug-coated balloons (DCB) improve patency rates in the femoropopliteal segment, and are generally used as first-line therapies. For below-knee disease, angioplasty is the default strategy unless lesions are focal whereby DES can be used to reduce restenosis risk.

Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty/stent treatment of totally occlusive iliofemoral artery with limb ischemia: Experience of surgical team

“…Commercially available drug-eluting stents may give hope in future; however, its common use is limited because of current cost-effective perspective. [23,24] Due to the complexity and diversity of the patients in our series, it was impossible to make up a control group for a randomized study. That was the limitation of this study.…”