Overuse of early peripheral vascular interventions for claudication

Abstract Objective Guidelines from the Society for Vascular Surgery and the Choosing Wisely campaign recommend that peripheral vascular interventions (PVIs) be limited to claudication patients with lifestyle-limiting symptoms only after a failed trial of medical and exercise therapy. We sought to explore practice patterns and physician characteristics associated with early PVI after a new claudication diagnosis to evaluate adherence to these guidelines. Methods We used 100% Medicare fee-for-service claims to identify patients diagnosed with claudication for the first time between 2015 and 2017. Early PVI was defined as an aortoiliac or femoropopliteal PVI performed within 6 months of initial claudication diagnosis. A physician-level PVI utilization rate was calculated for physicians who diagnosed >10 claudication patients and performed at least one PVI (regardless of indication) during the study period. Hierarchical multivariable logistic regression was used to identify physician-level factors associated with early PVI. Results Of 194,974 patients who had a first-time diagnosis of claudication during the study period, 6286 (3.2%) underwent early PVI. Among the 5664 physicians included in the analysis, the median physician-level early PVI rate was low at 0% (range, 0%-58.3%). However, there were 320 physicians (5.6%) who had an early PVI rate ≥14% (≥2 standard deviations above the mean). After accounting for patient characteristics, a higher percentage of services delivered in ambulatory surgery center or office settings was associated with higher PVI utilization (vs 0%-22%; 23%-47%: adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.23; 48%-68%: aOR, 1.49; 69%-100%: aOR, 1.72; all P P Conclusions Outlier physicians with a high early PVI rate for patients newly diagnosed with claudication are identifiable using a claims-based practice pattern measure. Given the shared Society for Vascular Surgery and Choosing Wisely initiative goal to avoid interventions for first-line treatment of claudication, confidential data-sharing programs using national benchmarks and educational guidance may be useful to address high utilization in the management of claudication.