Trends in Procedure Type, Morbidity and In-Hospital Outcomes of Patients with Peripheral Artery Disease: Data from the Brazilian Public Health System

Background The prevalence of peripheral artery disease (PAD) is rising worldwide, with considerable impact on health care systems. Methods We aimed to characterize the trends in therapeutic procedures and outcomes of PAD in the Brazilian Public Health System Database (DataSUS) between 2008 and 2012. Results The number of hospitalizations remained stable from 2008 to 2012, although there was a significant change in the proportions of treatment modalities. In 2008, surgical revascularization (SR) = 8,001 (29%), endovascular revascularization (EVR) = 3,207 (11%), and clinical treatment (CT) = 16,887 (60%); and in 2012, SR = 7,882 (28%), EVR = 5,044 (18%), and CT = 15,225 (54%); P P P  = 0.048), increased for CT (5.1–5.8%, P  = 0.002) and remained stable for SR. A nonsignificant increase was observed in total mortality (5.7–5.9%, P  = NS). Conclusions Our analysis depicts the high-PAD mortality in Brazil emphasizing the need of preventing and controlling cardiovascular risk factors. The impact of PAD in costs increased, mainly because of costs related to EVR.