Association between multivessel disease and outcomes in acute lower limb ischemia: A cohort study

ObjectiveAcute lower limb ischemia (ALI) is closely linked to conditions like diabetes mellitus and peripheral arterial disease, as well as the presence of polyvascular disease (PVD). The present retrospective observational study aimed to evaluate the impact of PVD on perioperative outcomes in patients with ALI.MethodsAmong 161 consecutive patients, these were categorized into subgroups based on their PVD status: control (N = 81), PVD1 (single arterial bed involvement) (N = 62), and PVD2 (coronary and cerebrovascular) (N = 18). Descriptive statistics and univariate analysis were performed.ResultsThe mean age was 71.17 ± 11.6. Higher prevalences of diabetes mellitus (n = 21, 33.9% in PVD1; n = 8, 44.4% in PVD2) and hypertension (n = 55, 88.7% in PVD1; n = 16, 88.9% in PVD2) were reported for the PVD groups, when comparing to controls, who registered 13 (16.0%) and 41 (50.6%) individuals, respectively. Anticoagulant therapy and acute myocardial infarction were more common in the PVD1 and PVD2 groups (p = 0.005 and p = 0.001). Non-cardiovascular mortality rates were significantly higher in the PVD groups, with 24.2% in PVD1 and 33.3% in PVD2 compared to 11.1% in the control group (p = 0.033).ConclusionsThe study concluded that PVD significantly impacts the status of ALI patients, emphasizing the need for tailored, multidisciplinary care.