SVS Announces New PAD Reporting Standards

September 28, 2016—The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) announced the release of new reporting standards focused on endovascular treatment of chronic lower extremity peripheral artery disease. Michael Stoner, MD, et al published the standards in the Journal of Vascular Surgery (2016;64:e1–e21).

Recommended reporting standards for lower extremity ischemia were last published by the SVS in 1997. In the announcement, the authors stated that with the tremendous increase in the variety of endovascular devices and techniques to treat occlusive disease, “the literature surrounding therapy for endovascular arterial disease consists of mixed-quality manuscripts without clear standardization.”

According to the SVS, this document clarifies and updates the 1997 standards, specifically for reports on endovascular treatment. The document is divided into the following sections: Claudication, Critical Limb Ischemia, Preintervention Assessment and Nonanatomic Treatment, Intervention, and Complications.

The document provides a summary for reporting endovascular revascularization techniques in the setting of chronic disease, with much of it based on previous publications and SVS-proposed standards.

The document is also intended to serve as a guide for the design of clinical trials and as a reference for journal editors and reviewers when considering scientific work pertaining to endovascular therapy for chronic lower extremity arterial disease, stated SVS.