Cigarette smoking intensity informs outcomes after open revascularization for peripheral artery disease

Cigarette smoking is the leading risk factor for peripheral artery disease (PAD). Existing literature often defines smoking history in broad categories of current, former, and never smokers, which may not sufficiently identify patients at the highest risk for poor outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the use of more informative categorization of smoking and to determine the association with important revascularization outcomes.

We conducted a retrospective review of all patients undergoing open lower extremity revascularization for symptomatic PAD, defined as claudication (Rutherford 3) or critical limb ischemia (Rutherford 4-6), during a 5-year period (2013-2017). Smoking history, demographics, and comorbidities were abstracted from electronic health records from seven hospitals within our health care system. Smoking history was defined by intensity (packs/day), duration (years), pack-year history, and cessation time. Outcomes included major adverse limb events (MALEs), death, limb loss, and amputation-free survival. Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for each parameter adjusted for patients' demographics and comorbidities. Cumulative incidence is reported for outcomes at 30, 180, and 365 days of follow-up.

We identified 693 patients undergoing open lower extremity revascularization for PAD (66% critical limb ischemia; 46% diabetes). The 1-year cumulative incidence of MALEs was 29.9% (95% CI, 26.4-33.9), whereas the 1-year incidence of death was 9.8% (95% CI, 7.5-12.7). The broad classification of current and former smokers identified no statistically significant differences in any measured outcomes. Patients who smoked more than one pack/day had 1.48 (95% CI, 1.01-2.16) times increase in risk of MALEs at 1 year compared with patients who smoked one or fewer packs/day. Patients who smoked more than one pack/day also had the highest 1-year amputation incidence (12.7%). Each of the four parameters was associated with increased risk of poor outcomes, although small sample size limited the precision of our estimates.

We found that smoking intensity is particularly informative of outcomes of patients undergoing open lower extremity revascularization for symptomatic PAD. These findings lay the groundwork for future research on relevant smoking history parameters and benefits of smoking reduction and cessation for clinicians to discuss with patients and to better understand and inform patients of intervention risks and expected outcomes.