Clinical Outcome of Acute Leg Ischaemia Due to Thrombosed Popliteal Artery Aneurysm: Systematic Review of 895 Cases

Abstract Objectives A systematic review was performed to summarise outcomes of acute thrombosed popliteal artery aneurysms (PAAs) treated with thrombolysis or thrombectomy followed by bypass. Methods A systematic review was conducted of data on acute thrombosed PAAs dated 1 January 1990 through 30 June 2008 using the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE and EMBASE databases. Primary endpoint was limb salvage; secondary endpoints were mortality and patency of the bypasses. Results Eight prospective studies and 25 retrospective studies with 895 patients presenting with acute ischaemia were included. No randomised trials were included. The mortality rate after surgical repair was 3.2% (95% confidence interval (C.I.) 1.8–4.6). The amputation rate was 14.1% (95% C.I. 11.8–16.4). Thrombolysis before surgery did not result in a significant reduction of the number of amputations, compared with surgery (thrombectomy and bypass) alone. The mean primary patency rates of the bypasses at 1, 3 and 5 years were 79%, 77% and 74%, respectively, in the ‘thrombolysis’ group and 71% ( P = 0.026), 54% ( P = 0.164) and 45% ( P = 0.249) in the ‘thrombectomy’ group. No distinction could be made regarding secondary patency and limb-salvage rates between the groups owing to insufficient data. Conclusions Preoperative and intra-operative thrombolyses result in a significant improvement in 1-year primary graft patency rates, but do not result in a significant reduction for amputations compared with surgery alone.