RESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: chronic peripheral arterial disease (PAD) seems to be a "rediscovered" pathology nowadays, brought into spotlight by its strong correlation with other signifi cant cardiovascular disorders. OBJECTIVES: to sustain a real benefi t from treatment with i.v. prostaglandins (PG) in PAD patients and to directly compare the currently used PG: alprostadil and iloprost. METHOD: open, non-randomized cohort study, with placebo group ("classical therapy") reviewing 615 PAD patients with therapeutic approach during 2003-2012 period, divided in 3 subgroups: "classical" therapy; "classical" therapy + iloprost; "classical" therapy + alprostadil; patients with Burger's disease were excluded; multiple factor analysis with statistical results inserted. RESULTS: clear domination of male gender patients, with older female gender patients (p.0.001); smoking like major risk factor in male and in all patients (p< 0.0001); 124 patients underwent angiography . CONCLUSION: a real improvement in the clinical status of patients receiving i.v. prostaglandin therapy with no diff erences between genders, diabetic and non-diabetic patients; alprostadil seems better than iloprost.