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Vascular disease burden after lower extremity revascularization (LER) comprises more than the first event, more vascular beds than the local arteries, and more than one clinical event type.Assess total arterial and venous thrombotic burden after LER for symptomatic peripheral artery disease (PAD) and effect of low-dose anticoagulation added to low-dose antiplatelet therapy.VOYAGER PAD randomized 6564 symptomatic PAD patients undergoing LER to rivaroxaban 2.5 mg twice-daily or placebo on aspirin background. Marginal proportional-hazards models used to generate treatment hazard ratios and associated 95% CIs for first and total events; non-thrombotic deaths treated as competing terminal events. Incidence rates calculated as number of events per 100 patient-years follow-up.Over 2.5 years (median), first and total thrombotic event rates: 7.1 and 10.3 events/100 patient-years, respectively, in placebo group. Two-thirds (925/1372) of total thrombotic events (arterial 95%, venous 5%) were nonfatal first events. Nearly one-third of patients with first event had a second arterial or venous thrombotic event. Rivaroxaban plus aspirin reduced first and total arterial and venous thrombotic events to 5.4 and 7.9 events/100 patient-years, respectively, a reduction in total thrombotic events over aspirin of 23% (HR: 0.77, 95%CI: 0.67-0.89, p = .0005), preventing 6.1 total arterial and venous thrombotic events at 3 years.Assessing total arterial and venous thrombotic events, not just first events, provides more complete information about disease burden and absolute on-treatment impact. Following LER, judicious modulation of more than one coagulation pathway can provide broader benefit than intensifying inhibition of one hemostatic system component.

Background The interaction between thrombosis and inflammation appears central to COVID-19-associated coagulopathy and likely contributes to poor outcomes. Tissue factor is a driver of disordered coagulation and inflammatory signaling in viral infections and is important for viral replication; therefore, tissue factor may be an important therapeutic target in COVID-19. Study Design ASPEN-COVID-19 (NCT04655586) is a randomized, prospective open-label blinded endpoint (PROBE), active comparator Phase 2b trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of recombinant Nematode Anticoagulant Protein c2 (rNAPc2), a potent tissue factor inhibitor, in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 with elevated D-dimer levels. This report describes the design of the Phase 2b dose ranging and proof of concept study. Participants are randomly assigned, in a 1:1:2 ratio, to lower or higher dose rNAPc2 by subcutaneous injection on days 1, 3, and 5 or to heparin according to local standard of care; randomization is stratified by baseline D-dimer level (at 2X upper limit of normal). The primary efficacy endpoint for Phase 2b is proportional change in D-dimer concentration from baseline to Day 8 or day of discharge, whichever is earlier. The primary safety endpoint is major or non-major clinically relevant bleeding through Day 8. Phase 2b enrollment began in December 2020 and is projected to complete ∼160 participants by Q4 2021. Conclusions ASPEN-COVID-19 will provide important data on a novel therapeutic approach that may improve outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients beyond available anticoagulants by targeting tissue factor, with potential effects on not only thrombosis but also inflammation and viral propagation.

Background: Women with coronary artery disease are shown to have worse outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention compared with men; however, less is known about sex-based outcomes following lower extremity peripheral vascular intervention (PVI) for symptomatic peripheral artery disease. The study aims to assess whether female sex is independently associated with periprocedural complications in patients undergoing PVI. Methods: Analysis includes patients undergoing lower extremity PVI from September 2016 to March 2020 from the Vascular Quality Initiative registry. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the independent association of female sex with post-PVI complications. Results: Of the 119 620 patients included, 47 316 (39.6%) were women. Analysis reflected that women were at higher risk of developing access site complications, including any hematoma (odds ratio [OR], 1.45 [1.35–1.57]), hematoma requiring transfusion (OR, 2.24 [1.82–2.76]; P P P P P P P =0.003). Conclusions: In a contemporary cohort, women undergoing lower extremity PVI for symptomatic peripheral artery disease were at higher risk than men of developing periprocedural complications, including moderate or severe access site bleeding, above-knee amputation, and in-hospital mortality. This increased risk persisted despite adjustment for differences in baseline patient or procedural characteristics and warrants further investigation.

Patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) requiring lower extremity revascularization (LER) are at high risk of adverse limb and cardiovascular events. VOYAGER PAD demonstrated that rivaroxaban significantly reduced this risk with an overall favorable net benefit in patients undergoing surgical revascularization; however, the efficacy and safety in those treated by surgical bypass including stratified by bypass conduit (venous or prosthetic) has not been described.In the VOYAGER PAD trial, patients with PAD after surgical and endovascular infrainguinal LER were randomized to rivaroxaban 2.5 mg twice daily or placebo and followed for a median of 28 months. The primary endpoint was a composite of acute limb ischemia (ALI), major amputation of vascular etiology, myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, or cardiovascular death. The principal safety outcome was Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) major bleeding. Index procedure details including conduit type (venous or prosthetic) were collected at baseline.Among 6564 randomized, 2185 (33%) underwent surgical LER. Of these, surgical bypass was performed in 1448 (66%), using prosthetic conduit in 773 (53%) and venous in 646 (45%). Adjusting for baseline differences and anatomic factors, the risk for unplanned limb revascularization in the placebo arm was 2.5-fold higher for those receiving prosthetic versus venous conduits (adjHR 2.53, 95% CI 1.65-3.90; p0.001) while the risk for ALI was 3 times greater (adjHR 3.07, 95% CI 1.84-5.11; p0.001). Rivaroxaban reduced the primary outcome in patients treated with bypass surgery (HR 0.78, 95% CI 0.62-0.98) with consistent benefits in those receiving venous (HR 0.66, 95% CI 0.49-0.96) and prosthetic (HR 0.87, 95% CI 0.66-1.15) conduits (pSurgical bypass with prosthetic conduit is associated with significantly higher rates of major adverse limb events relative to venous conduits even after adjusting for patient and anatomic characteristics. Adding rivaroxaban 2.5 mg twice daily to aspirin or dual antiplatelet therapy significantly reduces this risk, increases bleeding, but has a favorable benefit risk in patients treated with bypass surgery and regardless of conduit type. Rivaroxaban should be considered after lower extremity bypass for symptomatic PAD to reduce ischemic complications of the heart, limb, and brain.

Prior studies have observed an association between the burden of atherosclerotic vascular disease and the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). The association is not well described in peripheral artery disease (PAD) after lower extremity revascularization (LER).To describe the risk of, factors associated with, and outcomes after VTE, as well as the association of low-dose rivaroxaban plus antiplatelet therapy with VTE after LER.This global, multicenter cohort study used data from the Vascular Outcomes Study of ASA (acetylsalicylic acid) Along With Rivaroxaban in Endovascular or Surgical Limb Revascularization for PAD (VOYAGER PAD) randomized clinical trial, which enrolled patients from 2015 to 2018 with median follow-up of 28 months. Participants included patients with PAD undergoing LER. Patients with an indication for therapeutic anticoagulation were excluded. Data were analyzed from September 2020 to September 2021.Randomization to rivaroxaban 2.5 mg twice daily or placebo on a background of aspirin 100 mg daily; short-term clopidogrel was used at the discretion of the treating physician.Symptomatic VTE was a prespecified secondary outcome and prospectively collected.Among 6564 patients (median [IQR] age, 67 [61-73] years; 4860 [74.0%] men), 66 patients had at least 1 VTE. The 3-year rate of VTE in patients receiving placebo was 1.7%, and the pattern of risk was linear (year 1: 0.5%; year 2: 1.1%). After multivariable modeling, weight (hazard ratio [HR], 3.04; 95% CI, 1.09-8.43), hypertension (HR, 2.11; 95% CI, 0.91-4.89), prior amputation (HR, 2.07; 95% CI, 0.95-4.53), and older age (HR, 1.81; 95% CI, 1.06-3.11) were associated with increased risk of VTE. VTE was associated with risk of subsequent mortality (HR, 7.22; 95% CI, 4.66-11.19). Compared with aspirin alone, rivaroxaban plus aspirin was associated with lower VTE risk (HR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.37-0.998; P = .047), with benefit apparent early and sustained over time. This association was not modified by use of clopidogrel at randomization (without clopidogrel: HR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.29-1.07; with clopidogrel: HR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.32-1.48; P for interaction = .67).In this cohort study, there was continuous risk for VTE after LER in patients with PAD, with greater risk in patients who were older and had obesity and those with more severe PAD, as reflected by prior amputation. Low-dose rivaroxaban plus aspirin was associated with lower VTE risk compared with aspirin alone, with benefits apparent early and continued over time. The spectrum of venous and arterial thrombotic events and overall benefits of more potent antithrombotic strategies for prevention should be considered after LER for PAD.