Thromboangiitis Obliterans and Arteriosclerosis Obliterans

Abstract

The clinical and follow-up data on 268 patients 45 years of age or less when diagnosed as chronic occlusive peripheral arterial disease at the May Clinic in the period 1945 through 1949 were received. On the basis of clinical criteria the patients were classified as having definite thromboangiitis obliterans, probable thromboangiitis obliterans, probable arteriosclerosis obliterans or definite arteriosclerosis obliterans. The clinical features of the patients having tese 4 conditions at the time of diagnosis were presented. Significantly more patients with thromboangiitis obliterans had subsequent ischemia of the limbs and amputations than did patients with arteriosclerosis obliterans. No patients in the latter category had ulceration of a finger or required amputation of an upper extremity. The survival rate of patients with thromboangiitis obliterans compared favorably with a normal group of persons and was distinctly better than the survival rate of patients with arteriosclerosis obliterans. Although the most common cause of death in all groups was coronary heart heart disease, the patients with arteriosclerosis obliterans had a lower survival rate than did patients with thromboangiitis obliterans. The clinical features and survival rates of patients in the present study, suggest that thromboangiitis obliterans is a useful diagnostic category which should not be discarded.