[Long-term observation after percutaneous transluminal angioplasty in the pelvic and leg areas]

In this study 163 patients had long term follow ups after PTA; the value of a test which had previously hardly been used, the "Cox proportional hazards model", for prognostic purposes is stressed. In this test account is taken of the severity of the stenosis before PTA, the extent of re-stenosis following PTA and the distance of the occlusion from the aorta and these are related to the likelihood of success. The use of the Cox proportional hazards model with an accurate description of the clinical material and the use of the Kaplan-Meier method is recommended in order to obtain comparable figures for the results obtained in various centres. In this study patency after six months was 77%, after a year 67%, after three years 46% and after five years 37%.