Improved quality of life after 1 year with an invasive versus a noninvasive treatment strategy in claudicants: one-year results of the Invasive Revascularization or Not in Intermittent Claudication (IRONIC) Trial.

BACKGROUND The quality of evidence for invasive revascularization in intermittent claudication is low or very low. This prospective, randomized, controlled study tested the hypothesis that an invasive treatment strategy versus continued noninvasive treatment improves health-related quality of life after 1 year in unselected patients with intermittent claudication. METHODS AND RESULTS After clinical and duplex ultrasound assessment, unselected patients with intermittent claudication requesting treatment for claudication were randomly assigned to invasive (n=79) or noninvasive (n=79) treatment groups. Primary end point was health-related quality of life after 1 year, assessed with Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 version 1 and Vascular Quality of Life Questionnaire, and secondary end points included walking distances on a graded treadmill. The Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 version 1 physical component summary (P<0.001) and 2 Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 version 1 physical subscales improved significantly more in the invasive versus the noninvasive treatment group. Overall, Vascular Quality of Life Questionnaire score (P<0.01) and 3 of 5 domain scores improved significantly more in the invasive versus the noninvasive treatment group. Intermittent claudication distance improved significantly in the invasive (+124 m) versus the noninvasive (+50 m) group (P=0.003), whereas the change in maximum walking distance was not significantly different between groups. CONCLUSIONS An invasive treatment strategy improves health-related quality of life and intermittent claudication distance after 1 year in patients with stable lifestyle-limiting claudication receiving current medical management. Long-term follow-up data and health-economic assessments are warranted to further establish the role for revascularization in intermittent claudication.