Protection and Effectiveness of Carotid Angioplasty Stenting Compared with Carotid Endarterectomy

Aim: To compare the beneficial role of carotid angioplasty in comparison to carotid endarterectomy. Methods: PubMed database was searched for articles comparing carotid angioplasty stenting and carotid endarterectomy, published during 2000-2013. Eight studies in which carotid endarterectomy and angioplasty were compared using randomized control trail were included in the study. The pooled odds ratios (OR) and their confidence intervals, both fixed and random effects models were used. Results: Mixed results were found in literature. The mean age was above 60 years and most of the patients were male. Percentages of restenosis were not significantly different statistically in both groups (p=0.186). The calculated mean rate of stroke for CEA group was 3.24±2.35 and average rate of stroke in CAS was 5.32±4.09.The average length of stay was 2.86±1.32 and 2.74±1.98 (p= 0.823).The results of the studies have shown that in angioplasty group the odds of restenosis were 1.8 times higher as compared to endarterectomy. Conclusion: Both Carotid endovascular treatments are safe and effective to some extent. CAS may perhaps not be verified, to be as nonviolent as CEA in treating carotid endarterectomy.