Prostanoids for treating people with severe peripheral arterial disease of the legs

People with severely narrowed arteries of the lower limbs may suffer rest pain, ulcers, or gangrene, and this problem is called critical limb ischaemia. There is no option other than amputation for patients who present with critical limb ischaemia and who are unsuitable for rescue or reconstructive intervention of the arteries. The question is whether specific drugs such as prostanoids reduce mortality and progression of the disease, including amputations, more than placebo or other treatments. This review of 20 trials did not find any conclusive evidence that prostanoids provided long-term benefit. Prostanoids seem to have efficacy regarding rest-pain relief and ulcer healing. Iloprost may also have favourable results regarding major amputations. The more frequently reported adverse events when using prostanoids were headache, facial flushing, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea