Treatment of chronic occlusive arterial disease with pentoxifylline: changes in clinical and haemodynamic parameters

A prospective study was carried out in 15 patients with peripheral obstructive arterial disease (Fontaine Stage II), with obstructions in the thigh region, to assess the effect of treatment with pentoxifylline on clinical and haemodynamically measurable factors, particularly changes in the post-ischaemic increase in peripheral blood pressure. After a 7-day wash-out period, patients were hospitalized for 1 week and received a daily infusion of 300 mg pentoxifylline plus a 600 mg tablet orally in the evening. They were then treated as out-patients for 2 weeks, receiving 1200 mg pentoxifylline orally per day. Pain-free and maximum possible walking ranges, using a treadmill ergometer, were determined on Days 7, 14, 21 and 28 of the study. Measurements were made at the same intervals, using Doppler ultrasound, and the peripheral resting blood pressure index and post-ischaemic blood pressure index calculated. The results showed significant improvement in both pain-free and maximum walking range after intravenous and oral therapy and this was particularly noticeable in those patients who, before treatment, had a walking range of less than 150 metres: their pain-free range doubled in the first week. There was a slight increase in the resting Doppler blood pressure indices during treatment and a clear, significant increase in the post-ischaemic pressure index 90 and 120 sec after the induced ischaemia ended.