Clinical: Journals Watch - Renal surgery, obesity and diabetes.(Report)

Too busy to read the journals? Let Dr Louise Newson keep you up to date with the latest research.

Medical treatment better for renal artery stenosis - N Engl J Med 2009; 361: 1953-62

Many patients with atherosclerotic renovascular disease undergo percutaneous revascularisation of their renal arteries. Although this technique improves the patency of the blood vessels, actual evidence of a clinical benefit is still limited.

In this study, more than 800 patients with atherosclerotic renovascular disease were randomised either to undergo revascularisation in addition to medical therapy or to receive medical therapy alone. The median follow-up was 34 months.

Results showed no demonstrable clinical benefit of undergoing a revascularisation procedure compared with receiving medical therapy, and there were substantial risks from the procedure - including deaths and amputations of toes or …