A worldwide committee of 40 cross-specialty medical experts achieved what was hailed as the first-ever consensus for the appropriate use of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in peripheral vascular disease (PVD) interventions.
Global experts conducted a systematic and comprehensive review of key clinical IVUS scenarios and decision-making processes before voting. The results were shared at a sponsored symposium during Vascular Interventional Advances (VIVA) 2021 (Las Vegas, Oct. 5–7). They established clinical consensus to identify optimal use of IVUS and potential gaps in a bid to to set a standard across clinical specialties and drive positive outcomes for patients.
The new consensus and recommendations are aimed at improving quality care in PVD and are based on evidence, expert practice standards, and clinical experience, according to a press release from Philips, the company behind IVUS.
“The results of the cross-specialty expert consensus demonstrate strong support for the use of IVUS during peripheral interventions,” said Eric A. Secemsky, MD, an interventional cardiologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. “Future efforts need to focus on improving IVUS implementation into clinical practice and streamlining procedural workflow to help improve our patient outcomes.”
Today, healthcare providers’ use of IVUS in PVD interventions is not standardized and is therefore inconsistent, Philips stated in the press release. “The new appropriate-use expert consensus may help establish global standards of care to adopt into guidelines and improve quality care in PVD,” the company added.
