Editor's Choice - Quality of Life after Stenting for Iliofemoral Venous Obstruction: A Randomised Controlled Trial with One Year Follow Up

Objective: Deep venous obstruction (DVO) is a great burden on the healthcare system and patients' quality of life (QoL). Case series show stenting is safe and effective, however most studies lack control groups and QoL changes have not been compared with conventional treatment. The aim was to assess the difference in QoL changes from baseline to 12 months between stent and conventionally treated patients with DVO.

Methods: Subjects > 18 years old with DVO due to post-thrombotic (PTS) or non-thrombotic iliac vein lesions (NIVLs) in a tertiary hospital were prospectively randomised to best medical therapy (BMT) or stent placement with BMT in a ratio 2:1, stratified for PTS or NIVL. The primary outcome was the between group difference in VEINES-QoL scores change from baseline to 12 months after treatment. Secondary outcomes included the difference in score changes for EuroQoL 5-Dimension 5 Level (EQ-5D-5L), Pain Disability Index (PDI), Venous Clinical Severity Score (VCSS), and the Villalta score.

Results: After three years, the inclusion rate dropped to almost zero, therefore the study had to be stopped. Sixty-three patients were randomised to either the stent (n = 42) or control group (n = 21). Overall, 50 patients had available data for primary outcome analysis. The adjusted mean difference between 12 month scores for VEINES-QoL and VEINES-Sym was 8.07 (95% CI 3.04 - 13.09) and 5.99 (95% CI 0.75 - 11.24) (p = .026), respectively, in favour of the stent group. The differences were significant, but a pre-defined meaningful 14 point improvement in QoL was not reached. The mean difference between 12 month scores for VCSS was -2.93 (95% CI -5.71 - 0.16, p = .040), -11.83 (95% CI -20.81 - 2.86, p = .011) for PDI, 0.015 (95% CI -0.12 - 0.15, p = .82) for the EQ-5D index, and -2.99 (95% CI -7.28 - 1.30, p = .17) for the Villalta score.

Conclusion: Symptomatic patients with DVO who received dedicated venous stents had significantly higher VEINES-QoL/Sym scores at 12 months compared with the control group, but the between group difference was lower than the pre-specified clinically relevant QoL difference of at least 14 points.

Study registration number: NCT03026049.