Clinical and haemostatic effects of intravenous prostaglandin E1 therapy in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease

Background. In this study the action of an antiaggregatory prostaglandin, P GE1, was studied in a group of patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD), Methods. In 16 patients with PAOD Fontaine stage IIb and III the clinical a nd haemostatic effects of the endovenous administration of 60 mu g/die of a lwprostadil-PGE1 for four weeks, were evaluated. Before and after pharmacol ogical treatment, were evaluated the clinical symptoms (claudicatio intermi ttens and rest pain) and the following haemostatic parameters: plasma throm bomodulin (TM), beta-thromboglobulin (beta-TG), D-dimer (DD), tissue-type p lasminogen activator (t-PA) and plasminogen activator-inhibitor (PAI-1). Results. No significant difference in plasma TM, t-PA and PAI-1 levels was observed after the treatment. On the other hand the patients showed plasma levels of beta-TG and DD significantly decreased at the end of the treatmen t. From the clinical point of view both claudicatio intermittens and rest p ain satisfactorily improved in all patients. Conclusions. This data confirmed the therapeutic efficacy of PGE1 in the tr eatment of PAOD patients.