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Minerva Cardioangiologica 2011 February;59(1):101-8

Copyright © 2011 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Iloprost in the management of peripheral arterial disease in patients with diabetes mellitus

Piaggesi A., Vallini V., Iacopi E., Tedeschi A., Scatena A., Goretti C., Rizzo L. ✉

Sezione Piede Diabetico, Unità Operativa Malattie del Metabolismo e Diabetologia, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana, Pisa, Italia

Diabetic complications in the lower extremities, especially those secondary to diabetic macroangiopathy, have increasingly become a clinical emergency, given the high prevalence and progression of the disease. Until recently, the only approach to treating advanced stage disease was medical therapy and major amputation; however, the advent of revascularization procedures has radically improved the prognosis of patients with critical lower limb ischemia. In this setting, iloprost holds a dual position: as first-choice therapy in patients ineligible for revascularization and as complementary therapy in candidates for surgical or endovascular revascularization.