Why is this study important?

Chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) is highly prevalent. CLTI is associated with poor Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) and revascularization have shown to improve QoL in CLTI patients.

What question was this study supposed to answer?

To assess the effect of Bypass surgery vs Endovascular therapy, both standard-of-care revascularization strategies, on health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

What did the study show?

Researchers surveyed participants at the beginning of the BEST-CLI study and at six follow-up visits over a median of four years, asking about pain, daily living activities, disease symptoms and severity, physical activity level, and mental health. Among patients with CLTI deemed eligible for both bypass and endovascular treatment,  baseline HRQoL was poor. However, both treatment strategies resulted in significant and meaningful improvement in HRQoL over baseline. The effect of treatment on HRQoL was seen early and was sustained, and across all measures. However, in patients with an available saphenous vein graft, endovascular therapy was statistically superior on some HRQoL measures.