Patient knowledge and preferences for peripheral artery disease treatment

Area of Science:

• Vascular Medicine
• Patient-Reported Outcomes
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Peripheral artery disease (PAD) necessitates shared medical decision-making, requiring patient comprehension of disease and treatment options.
• Preference-sensitive treatments exist for PAD, yet patient knowledge and preferences regarding specific treatment goals remain under-researched.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess patient knowledge and preferences for treatment goals in peripheral artery disease (PAD) experiencing claudication.
• To identify gaps in understanding and inform shared decision-making strategies for symptomatic PAD.

Main Methods:

• A prospective, multicenter registry administered the PORTRAIT Knowledge and Preferences Survey to 281 patients with PAD and claudication at 1 year.
• The survey assessed PAD treatment choices, symptom relief, disease management, secondary prevention, and ranked 10 treatment goals using a 1-10 Likert scale.

Main Results:

• Only 54.1% of patients knew multiple treatment options existed for PAD symptoms, and 47.1% were offered more than one option.
• High importance was assigned to goals such as avoiding limb loss, reducing heart attack/stroke risk, long-lasting benefit, living longer, quality of life, and physician recommendations.
• Goals with greater variability in patient preference included avoiding surgery, treatment cost, pain relief timeline, and return to work.

Conclusions:

• Significant knowledge gaps persist among patients with symptomatic PAD.
• Enhanced support for shared decision-making frameworks is essential for improving patient care and outcomes in PAD.