Effect of alprostadil plus cilostazol on the treatment outcomes and inflammatory factors in patients with lower extremity arteriosclerosis obliterans receiving evidence-based care

Abstract

This study aims to elucidate the effect of alprostadil (ALP) plus cilostazol (CIL) on the treatment outcomes and inflammatory factors in patients with lower extremity arteriosclerosis obliterans (LEASO) receiving evidence-based care. Firstly, 130 patients with LEASO were selected from February 2020 to February 2023 and then randomly divided into two groups with 65 patients each. Excluding the dropouts, 59 patients in the control group (6 cases of dropout) received ALP and 62 patients in the research group (3 cases of dropout) received ALP plus CIL. Both groups were cared for in accordance with the evidence-based care model. Treatment outcomes, arteriosclerosis indexes (blood flow of dorsalis pedis artery [DPA], ankle–brachial index [ABI] and toe–brachial index [TBI]), hemorheological parameters (erythrocyte aggregation index [EAI], erythrocyte deformation index [EDI], high blood viscosity [HBV] and haematocrit [HCT]), inflammatory factors (interleukin [IL]-6, IL-8 and tumour necrosis factor [TNF]-α) and complications (nausea, diarrhoea, headache and transaminase elevation) were compared between the control and research groups. Results show that the overall response rate was markedly higher in the research group (90.32%) than in the control group (74.58%). Additionally, the blood flow of DPA, ABI and TBI in the research group significantly increased after the treatment and were higher than those in the control group. Meanwhile, the EAI, EDI, HBV, HCT, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α were significantly lower. The two groups did not differ markedly in the complication rate. The above findings suggest that ALP plus CIL is effective for patients with LEASO receiving evidence-based care. It can significantly improve arteriosclerosis indexes and hemorheological parameters while inhibiting serum inflammatory responses, with some certain safety.