From Our Journals

Feb 13, 2019 Re-posted from the February 2019 issue of Vascular Specialist

From JVS: Researchers believe metformin, a commonly used prescribed oral hypoglycemic agent, may limit enlargement of abdominal aortic aneurysms, after analyzing patients of diabetic patients who are being treated in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The findings, outlined in an opensource article in the March Journal of Vascular Surgery, support holding clinical trials to test the drug’s effectiveness in limiting progression of early AAA disease. Read more through April 30 at vsweb.org/JVS-Metformin.

From JVS-VL: A recent retrospective study showed that vascular surgeons accounted for 22.6 percent of specialists performing endovenous therapy among Medicare patients from 2012- 14. However, the largest percentage of providers (29.7 percent) was comprised of non-surgical specialties or specialists not generally associated with vascular procedures. The study, according to the article in the March JVS-Vascular and Lymphatic Disorders, “raises the question of financially driven, potentially inappropriate utilization of EVT.” Read more free through April 30 at vsweb.org/JVSVL-EVToveruse.

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