Best Endovascular vs. Best Surgical Therapy in Patients With Critical Limb Ischemia (BEST-CLI)
Critical Limb Ischemia

About this trial
This is an interventional treatment trial for Critical Limb Ischemia focused on measuring Surgical revascularization, Endovascular revascularization, Amputation, Peripheral artery disease, Critical limb ischemia, claudication, leg pain, leg ulcer, gangrene
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- Male or female, age 18 years or older.
- Infrainguinal PAOD (occlusive disease of the arteries below the inguinal ligament).
- CLI, defined as arterial insufficiency with gangrene, non-healing ischemic ulcer, or rest pain consistent with Rutherford categories 4-6.
- Candidate for both endovascular and open infrainguinal revascularization as judged by the treating investigators
- Adequate aortoiliac inflow.
- Adequate popliteal, tibial or pedal revascularization target defined as an infrainguinal arterial segment distal to the area of stenosis/occlusion which can support a distal anastomosis of a surgical bypass.
- Willingness to comply with protocol, attend follow-up appointments, complete all study assessments, and provide written informed consent.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Presence of a popliteal aneurysm (>2 cm) in the index limb.
- Life expectancy of less than 2 years due to reasons other than PAOD.
- Excessive risk for surgical bypass (as determined by the operating surgeon and the CLI Team)
- Planned above ankle amputation on ipsilateral limb within 4 weeks of index procedure.
- Active vasculitis, Buerger's disease, or acute limb-threatening ischemia
- Any prior index limb infrainguinal stenting or stent grafting associated with significant restenosis within 1 cm of stent or stent-graft, unless the occlusion/restenosis site is outside the intended treatment zone (i.e.,. a tibial vessel that is not currently intended to be revascularized as a part of the treatment for CLI).
Any of the following procedures performed on the index limb within 3 months prior to enrollment:
- Infrainguinal balloon angioplasty, atherectomy, stent, or stentgraft;
- Infrainguinal bypass with either venous or prosthetic conduit
- Open surgical inflow procedure (aortofemoral, axillofemoral, iliofemoral, thoracofemoral or femorofemoral bypass) within 6 weeks prior to enrollment
- Current chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
- Absolute contraindication to iodinated contrast due to prior near-fatal anaphylactoid reaction (laryngospasm, bronchospasm, cardiorespiratory collapse, or equivalent) which would preclude patient participation in angiographic procedures.
- Pregnancy or lactation.
- Administration of an investigational drug for PAD within 30 days of randomization.
- Participation in a clinical trial (except observational studies) within the previous 30 days.
- Prior enrollment or randomization into BEST-CLI.
Sites / Locations
- The University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Arizona Heart Hospital
- University of Arizona - Banner University Medical Center
- Carondelet Heart & Vascular Institute
- University of Arkansas for Medical Services
- University of California - Irvine
- San Diego VAMC
- UC San Diego Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center
- Loma Linda University Medical Center
- Loma Linda VA Medical Center
- VA Long Beach Healthcare System
- Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center
- VA Greater Los Angeles
- Keck Medical Center of USC
- UCLA-Gonda Vascular Surgery
- VA Palo Alto Health Care
- Sacramento VA Medical Center
- University of California Davis Medical Center
- Kaiser Permanente (San Diego)
- Kaiser Permanente Northern California
- San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center
- University of California-San Francisco Medical Center
- Stanford Hospital
- Harbor - UCLA Medical Center
- University of Colorado Hospital
- Denver Health
- Vascular Institute of the Rockies
- Rocky Mountain Regional VA
- St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center
- Yale-New Haven Hospital
- West Haven VAMC
- Medstar Washington Hospital Center
- GW Medical Faculty Associates, Inc.
- University of Florida (Gainesville)
- Mount Sinai Miami
- Baptist Hospital of Miami
- Florida Hospital Ocala
- Tampa General Hospital
- Tampa VAMC
- Emory University
- Atlanta VA Medical Center
- Kaiser Foundation Hospital
- Central DuPage Hospital (Cadence)
- Rush University Medical Center
- University of Chicago Medicine
- Decatur Memorial Hospital
- Loyola University Medical Center
- Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
- Northwestern Memorial Hospital
- Indiana University Medical School
- Mercy Hospital Medical Center
- Ochsner Medical Center
- University Health System: LSU Health Sciences
- Maine Medical Center
- University of Maryland Medical System
- Johns Hopkins Hospital
- Loyola University Medical Center
- MedStar Union Memorial Hospital
- Massachusetts General Hospital
- Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Boston Medical Center
- VA Boston Healthcare System
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
- Steward St. Elizabeth's Medical Center
- South Shore Hospital
- University of Massachusetts Medical School
- VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System
- Michigan Heart/St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor Hospital
- University of Michigan Health System
- Henry Ford Health System
- Michigan Vascular Center
- Spectrum Health
- William Beaumont Hospital
- Minneapolis Heart Hospital/Abbott Northwestern Hosp.
- Minneapolis VAMC
- Mayo Clinic
- University of Missouri
- Midwest Aortic Vascular Institute
- St. Louis VA Medical Center
- University of Nebraska Medical Center
- Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center
- Deborah Heart and Lung Center
- Englewood Hospital and Medical Center
- Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
- Holy Name Medical Center
- New Mexico Heart Institute
- New Mexico VA Medical Center
- Albany Medical Center
- Montefiore Medical Center
- VA Western NY Healthcare System
- Mount Sinai Medical Center
- Columbia University Medical Center
- Vascular Health Partners
- University of Rochester Medical Center
- Staten Island University Hospital
- Stony Brook Medicine
- SUNY Upstate Medical University
- Westchester Medical Center
- University of North Carolina
- Duke University
- Durham VAMC
- North Carolina Heart and Vascular Research
- Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
- University Hospitals of Cleveland/Case Western Reserve University
- Cleveland Clinic Foundation
- The Ohio State University
- Ohio Health Research Institute
- University of Toledo Medical Center
- University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
- University of Oklahoma College of Medicine at Tulsa
- Providence Heart and Vascular Institute
- Oregon Health and Science University
- Portland VA Medical Center
- Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
- Temple University
- Allegheny General Hospital
- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
- Pinnacle Health System
- Rhode Island Hospital
- The Miriam Hospital/Brown Medical School
- Medical University of South Carolina
- Prisma Health-Upstate (Formerly Greenville Memorial Hospital)
- North Central Heart Institute
- Wellmont Holston Valley Medical Center
- University of Tennessee Medical Center
- Dallas VA Medical Center
- Memorial Hermann Hospital TMC
- Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center
- Scott and White - Temple
- The University of Utah
- University of Vermont Medical Center
- University of Virginia
- Inova Fairfax Hospital
- Sentara Vascular Specialists
- Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason
- Harborview Medical Center
- Swedish Medical Center
- Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center
- CAMC Clinical Trials Center
- Gundersen Health System
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Meriter Wisconsin Heart
- Medical College of Wisconsin
- Milwaukee VAMC
- Vancouver General Hospital
- St. Boniface General Hospital
- Queen Elizabeth II Health Science Center
- University of Western Ontario
- The Ottawa Hospital
- Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
- Toronto General Hospital
- McGill
- Jewish General Hostpital
- Chu de Quebec
- Regina Qu'Appelle
- St. Paul's Hospital
- Helsinki University Hospital
- San Giovanni di Dio Hospital
- Auckland City Hospital
- Waikato Hospital
- Wellington Hospital
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Arm 3
Arm 4
Other
Other
Other
Other
Available vein, open surg. revasc.
Available vein, endovasc. revasc.
Alternative conduit, open surg. revasc.
Alternative conduit, endovasc. revasc.
Subjects with an available SSGSV cohort randomized to open surgical revascularization
Subjects with an available SSGSV cohort randomized to endovascular revascularization
Subjects with an alternative conduit cohort randomized to open surgical revascularization
Subjects with an alternative conduit cohort randomized to endovascular revascularization