Abstract
BACKGROUND: Clinical impact of inframalleolar (IM) angioplasty in patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) is still controversial. METHODS AND RESULTS: This single-center, retrospective study included 168 patients with CLTI and tissue loss who underwent angioplasty for IM lesions. Angiographic follow up was performed at reintervention between April 2010 and December 2020. The outcome measure was the incidence of angiographic deterioration characterized by severe restenosis or occlusion of mildly stenotic lesions, occlusion of severely stenotic lesions, or extension of the occlusion length at reintervention. Angiographic deterioration was observed in 47.7% of patients, with the majority attributed to occlusion in severely stenotic lesions. Multivariate analysis revealed that a distal reference vessel diameter ≤1.0 mm in the initial angioplasty (hazard ratio 1.91 [95% confidence interval 1.20-3.04]; P=0.006) was significantly associated with angiographic deterioration of IM lesions at reintervention. CONCLUSIONS: Angiographic deterioration occurred in approximately half of the patients with CLTI who underwent IM angioplasty and reintervention.