Factors effecting the success of retrograde tibiopedal access and recanalization in infrapopliteal artery occlusions.

Purpose: Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is increasingly prevalent, particularly among the aging population. Retrograde tibiopedal access (RTPA) has emerged as a useful endovascular treatment for PAD. However, there is limited research examining factors that influence the efficacy of RTPA. To investigate factors affecting the access, crossing, and recanalization success rates of RTPA for infrapopliteal PAD treatment.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 720 patients who underwent endovascular treatment for PAD. Of these, 104 patients (mean age: 65.5 ± 16.2; 89 men) with 131 RTPA trials were included in the final evaluation. The disease and its duration, Rutherford score, smoking status, access site, and its occlusion status, access, crossing, and recanalization success were noted. Data were analyzed using Pearson's chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests and multivariate logistic regression to evaluate the impact of various factors on success rates.

Results: The access success rate was 82.6%, the crossing success rate was 95.4%, and the recanalization success rate was 74%. Access success was significantly higher when the dorsal pedal artery (DPA) was the access artery compared with the posterior tibial artery (91.3% vs. 74.2%, P = 0.009). Access success was notably lower in patients with thromboangiitis obliterans compared with patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and non-DM atherosclerosis (68.6% vs. 90.3% and 80.3%, P = 0.019). Recanalization success was higher when the puncture site was non-occluded (76.7% vs. 53.5%, P = 0.023).

Conclusion: The study suggests that RTPA is a generally effective and safe technique for infrapopliteal PAD treatment. The most favorable outcomes are observed in individuals with DM who have a non-occluded DPA at the puncture site. Recanalization success is only affected by the patency of the artery at the puncture site.

Clinical significance: These findings offer targeted guidance for clinicians and highlight areas requiring further investigation.