Treatment Options for Buerger Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Outcomes.

Introduction: Uncertainties exist regarding the optimal management strategy for patients with thromboangiitis obliterans (TAOs). The aim of this study was to investigate the safety and effectiveness of common interventions used for treating patients with TAO.

Methods: Endovascular treatment, revascularization, sympathectomy, stem cell therapy (SCT), and nonsurgical interventions were selected for inclusion in the study. Changes in mean visual analogue scale score and ankle brachial index (ABI) values were evaluated. In addition, the rate of ulcer healing, postintervention amputation, and overall complication rates were compared across interventions.

Results: A total of 1262 TAO patients (1159 males, 84 females), with a mean age of 38.4 ± 7.8 ys, were included in this systematic review. With an amputation rate of 16.6%, the endovascular treatment group showed statistically significant improvements in mean ABI and visual analogue scale scores (P < 0.05). There was a greater increase in ABI postoperatively with endovascular treatment compared to SCT (P < 0.05), and also a greater increase in ABI postoperatively with revascularization compared to SCT (P < 0.05). Meta-regression showed that both endovascular treatment and open surgical revascularization were superior to stem cell treatment for postoperative mean ABI improvement (P < 0.05). Interestingly, the rate of postoperative amputation was lower in the SCT group compared with the other two interventions.

Conclusions: Our results indicated that all three interventions may be a reasonable therapeutic option for TAO. Endovascular intervention and open revascularization demonstrated superior outcomes.