Duplex Ultrasound Surveillance After Endovascular Therapy for Peripheral Arterial Disease: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Publication date: Jun 27, 2026

Post-operative duplex ultrasound (DUS) surveillance is common practice globally, yet there is limited evidence to demonstrate its efficacy. This study aimed to determine the incidence of adverse events in a contemporary cohort of patients undergoing post-endovascular-therapy DUS surveillance and to inform the design of a planned randomized controlled trial. A retrospective cohort study was conducted at Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, Australia. We reviewed consecutive patients who underwent endovascular intervention of the femoropopliteal arterial segment for symptomatic peripheral arterial disease between 2016-2017, with 24-month follow-up completed prior to COVID-19. The primary endpoint was a composite of target vessel occlusion, major adverse limb event (MALE), and/or death. Forty-eight patients met inclusion criteria. Mean age was 71. 9 years (range 52-92), with 52. 1% male. Indications included intermittent claudication (62. 5%) and chronic limb-threatening ischemia (37. 5%). TASC II lesion classifications were: Type A (8. 3%), Type B (35. 4%), Type C (37. 5%), and Type D (18. 8%). Treatment strategies included angioplasty alone (37. 5%), angioplasty with stenting (60. 4%) and one patient (2. 1%) who received atherectomy adjunctive to drug-coated ballooning. The primary composite endpoint occurred in 18 patients (37. 5%) over 24 months. In this contemporary cohort, the composite endpoint of target vessel occlusion, major adverse limb event, or death occurred in over a third of patients within 24 months. These data support proceeding with the planned SURVEIL randomized controlled trial (ACTRN12625000889459p) and inform its eligibility criteria, endpoint selection, and sample size estimation.

Open Access PDF

Semantics

Original Article