Older and younger patients benefited from varicose vein procedures, a finding that calls into question the use of compression therapy as the primary treatment for patients aged 65 years and older, according to the results of a prospectively maintained database study of all patients in the Vascular Quality Initiative Varicose Vein Registry–participating centers.
Procedures for varicose veins in 1,068 patients aged 65 years or older showed similar improvement in Clinical, Etiology, Anatomy, and Pathophysiology class and Venous Clinical Severity Score, compared with a group of 2,691 younger patients, according to a report published in Journal of Vascular Surgery: Venous and Lymphatic Disorders. Among patients younger than 65 years, 57.4% had an improvement, compared with 52% of patients aged 65 years or older.
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However, the younger patients had more improvement in patient-reported outcomes, according to Danielle C. Sutzko, MD, of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and her colleagues (J Vasc Surg Venous Lymphat Disord. 2017 Sep;5[5]:647-57).
One of the main limitations of the study was the fact that only 62% of procedures within the Vascular Quality Initiative Varicose Vein Registry had follow-up.
“Patients older than 65 years appear to benefit from appropriate varicose vein procedures and should not be denied interventions on their varicose veins and venous insufficiency on the basis of their age only,” the researchers concluded.
Dr. Sutzko and her colleagues reported having no conflicts of interest.