Endovascular Subcommittee

EBIR – ES | Re-analysis of drug-eluting devices in PAD | CIRSE member survey on use of drug-eluting devices in PAD | Subcommittee members

The Endovascular Subcommittee (EVSC) was formally constituted in 2016 as CIRSE’s leading body on issues relating to endovascular therapies. Composed of world-leading experts in the field, the subcommittee provides continuous advice to the CIRSE leadership and works on a various projects and initiatives to advocate interventional radiology as a leading discipline in the field of endovascular intervention. Based on the realisation that endovascular interventions are increasingly taken over by other disciplines in many countries, CIRSE aims to actively promote interventional radiologists as experts in the field of endovascular intervention, particularly with regards to peripheral arterial disease, through this subcommittee.

Since its establishment, the subcommittee has helped to develop a number of important initiatives in the areas of education, certification, and advocacy.

EBIR – ES

The European Certification for Endovascular Specialists represents an important milestone in the recognition of IRs who have specialised in practising endovascular therapy. Based on the European Curriculum and Syllabus for Interventional Radiology, this evidence-based certification allows EBIR holders to prove their experience and expert knowledge. This will help to further solidify the acknowledgement of IRs as experts in the field and provide them with a certification to support them on a local level. Ultimately, patients will also benefit from skilled specialists and the increased availability of minimally-invasive treatment options.

The EBIR-ES certification was developed under the former EVSC Chairperson Mick Lee. To learn more or certify your expertise, click here. In conjunction with this certification, the Subcommittee has also created specialist courses in the CIRSE Academy, which need to be completed for the certification.

Re-analysis of data and outcomes drug-eluting devices in PAD

Since the publication of the 2018 meta-analysis by Katsanos et al., which raised a red flag for a possible link between the use of Paclitaxel coated devices and increased mortality, the topic and use of these devices remained controversial.

The Subcommittee recently published the Re-analysis of Old Data and New Outcomes Data Do Not Support a Link Between Paclitaxel Coated Balloons and Paclitaxel Eluting Stents and Mortality: These Devices Should be Used in PAD (Peripheral Arterial Disease) Treatment in Femoropopliteal Disease on the Basis of Their Published Efficacy. Simultaneously, the FDA issued an update letter to physicians supporting the use of DCBs and DESs on the grounds of their safety and efficacy. Read the interview with lead author Stefan Müller-Hülsbeck in the CIRSE Insider.

CIRSE member survey on the use of drug-eluting devices in PAD

In parallel to the re-analysis of data and outcomes, the subcommittee conducted a member survey among all CIRSE members, to assess the current practice of drug-eluting devices for PAD. The results of the survey were published in The Current Use of Drug-Eluting Balloons and Stents in Peripheral Arterial Disease: An Online Survey by the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe (CIRSE) in September 2023.

Ongoing projects of the subcommittee include the production of new CIRSE standards of practice documents in the endovascular field, as well as the production of position statements.

Subcommittee members