Long-term Mortality among Patients with Chronic Ulcers.

Chronic ulcers cause a significant burden to patients and society. This study evaluated long-term mortality among patients with chronic ulcers diagnosed at a dermatology clinic between 1980 and 2010. The mortality risk and causes of death of 3,489 patients with ulcers were compared with a matched reference group of 10,399 individuals, and factors associated with increased mortality risk were examined.

Overall outcome after endovascular aneurysm repair with a first-generation stent graft (Vanguard): A 20-year single-center experience.

Objective: The problems with first-generation stent grafts for endovascular aneurysm repair are well known, but their long-term outcome remains to be established. The purpose of the study was to characterize the outcome of patients treated for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) with a first-generation stent graft, Vanguard (Boston Scientific, Natick, Mass), in a single academic center with a follow-up of up to 20 years.

Methods: There were 48 AAA patients electively treated with a Vanguard stent graft between February 1997 and November 1999.

Systematic Long-term Follow Up After Endovascular Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair With the Zenith Stent Graft.

Objective/background: Although endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) has been widely adopted, long-term data remain limited. This study analyses the long-term outcome (16 years) after EVAR with the Zenith stent graft in a single academic centre.

Methods: From 2000 to 2010, 282 patients with an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) were treated electively and monitored annually.

VASIM: an automated tool for the quantification of carotid atherosclerosis by computed tomography angiography.

The diagnostic imaging techniques currently used to evaluate the arterial atherosclerosis hinge on the manual marking and calculation of the stenosis degree. However, the manual assessment is highly dependent on the operator and characterized by low replicability. The study aimed to develop a fully-automated tool for the segmentation and analysis of atherosclerosis in the extracranial carotid arteries.

Survival of Patients and Treatment-Related Outcome After Intra-Arterial Thrombolysis for Acute Lower Limb Ischemia.

Background: The aim of this study is to evaluate the long-term survival and treatment-related outcome in patients treated with intra-arterial thrombolysis for acute lower limb ischemia.

Methods: The study was based on a prospective vascular database with retrospectively obtained supplementary information from the patients' files. Additionally, data on the patients' date and cause of death were obtained from Statistics Finland.