The accuracy of the physical examination for the detection of lower extremity peripheral arterial disease

BACKGROUND:

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a major risk factor for adverse cardiovascular events. There has been a definite push for wider use of the ankle-brachial index (ABI) as a simple screening tool for PAD. Perhaps this has occurred to the detriment of a thorough physical examination.

OBJECTIVE:

To assess the accuracy of the physical examination to detect clinically significant PAD compared with the ABI.

METHODS:

PADfile, the PAD module of CARDIOfile (the Kingston Heart Clinic’s cardiology database [Kingston, Ontario]), was searched for all patients who underwent peripheral arterial testing. Of 1619 patients, 1236 had all of the necessary data entered. Patients’ lower limbs were divided into two groups: those with a normal ABI between 0.91 and 1.30, and those with an abnormal ABI of 0.90 or lower. Peripheral pulses were graded as either absent or present. Absent was graded as 0/3, present but reduced (1/3), normal (2/3) or bounding (3/3). Femoral bruits were graded as either present (1) or absent (0). Using the ABI as the gold standard, the sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value (NPV), positive predictive value and overall accuracy were calculated for the dorsalis pedis pulse, the posterior tibial pulse, both pedal pulses, the presence or absence of a femoral bruit and, finally, for a combination of both pedal pulses and the presence or absence of a femoral bruit.

RESULTS:

In 1236 patients who underwent PAD testing and who underwent a complete peripheral vascular physical examination (all dorsalis pedis and posterior tibial pulses palpated and auscultation for a femoral bruit), the sensitivity, specificity, NPV, positive predictive value and accuracy for PAD were 58.2%, 98.3%, 94.9%, 81.1% and 93.8%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS:

The clinical examination of the peripheral arterial foot pulses and the auscultation for a femoral bruit had a high degree of accuracy (93.8%) for the detection or exclusion of PAD compared with the ABI using the cut-off of 0.90 or lower. If both peripheral foot pulses are present in both lower limbs and there are no femoral bruits, the specificity and NPV of 98.3% and 94.9%, respectively, make the measurement of the ABI seem redundant. The emphasis in PAD detection should be redirected toward encouraging a thorough physical examination.     

无症状下肢动脉病变老人的踝臂指数的检测及下肢动脉病变相关因素的分析

目的：检测无症状下肢动脉病变（LEAD）老人的踝臂指数（ABI）,分析LEAD的相关因素。方法：随机选择206例老年患者,以ABI≤0.9作为LEAD的诊断标准,所有对象被分为无症状下肢动脉病变组（LEAD组,48例）和无下肢动脉病变组（无LEAD对照组,158例）,比较两组心血管病危险因素的分布,分析与LEAD相关的因素。结果：LEAD组的年龄、动脉收缩压（SBP）、脉压（PP）、脂蛋白（a）[Lp（a）]、血尿酸（UA）、C反应蛋白（CRP）、糖化血红蛋白（HbA1c）,以及臂踝脉搏波传导速度（baPWV）均明显高于无LEAD对照组（P〈0.05,或P〈0.01）;而舒张压（DBP）显著低于无LEAD对照组（P〈0.05）。Pearson相关分析显示,ABI与年龄（r=-0.347,P=0.025）,PP（r=-0.246,P=0.034）,Lp（a）（r=-0.321,P=0.002）,UA（r=-0.215,P=0.046）,CRP（r=-0.335,P=0.031）,HbA1c（r=-0.272,P=0.017）,baPWV（r=-0.278,P=0.017）均呈负相关。Logistic多元回归提示,年龄、SBP、PP以及Lp（a）与LEAD独立相关。结论：年龄、收缩压、脉压以及脂蛋白（a）是LEAD独立危险因素,其积极矫正有助于无症状下肢动脉病变的防治,减少心、脑血管事件的发生。     

社区人群中外周动脉病与体质量指数相关性的研究

目的:分析上海嘉定社区人群中外周动脉病(PAD)的患病率及其与体质量指数(BMI)的关系。方法:采用整群抽样的方法,选取上海嘉定区40岁以上的社区居民5 435名。所有受试者均接受口服75 g葡萄糖耐量试验(OGTT)、血脂的测定以及踝肱指数(ABI)的检测。将ABI0.05)。BMI正常组、超重组及肥胖组的PAD患病率分别为6.67%、6.83%和12.62%,肥胖组PAD的患病率显著高于BMI正常组以及超重组(均P     

Prevalence and clinical profile and management of peripheral arterial disease in elderly patients with diabetes

Introduction

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) increases with age and diabetes. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of PAD in an elderly population with diabetes.

Methods

This multicenter and cross-sectional study included patients > 70 years, with an established diagnosis of diabetes. PAD was defined as those patients with a history of revascularization or amputation due to ischemia, or a pathological ankle-brachial index (ABI). Adequate blood pressure (BP), LDL cholesterol and HbA1c control were considered as < 130/80 mm Hg, < 100 mg⁄dL and < 7.0%, respectively.

Results

A total of 1462 patients were included. The most frequent cardiovascular risk factor and cardiovascular disease were hypertension (80.37%) and PAD (60.60% overall; 83.2% of those assisted by vascular surgeons vs 31.9% of those attended by other medical specialists; p < 0.001), respectively. However, when ABI was measured, 70.99% of the study population had PAD (80.2% of those assisted by vascular surgeons vs 59.6% of those attended by other medical specialists; p < 0.001). The predictors for a pathological ABI included male gender, smoking, dyslipidemia, family history of premature cardiovascular disease, sedentary lifestyle, diabetic-related complications, heart and cerebrovascular diseases. Although risk factors control was very poor, it was even lower in patients with PAD.

Conclusions

The prevalence of PAD is high in diabetic elderly patients. The concomitance with other risk factors and cardiovascular diseases was very high. The ABI allowed increasing the diagnosis of PAD.     

Epidemiological characteristics of lower extremity arterial disease in Chinese diabetes patients at high risk: a prospective,multicenter, cross-sectional study

Aims

To determine the epidemiological characteristics of lower extremity arterial disease (LEAD) in high-risk patients and identify practical gaps in LEAD management.

糖尿病合并下肢动脉性病变的流行病学及药物治疗

糖尿病患者合并下肢动脉性病变(PAD)较非糖尿病者患病率更高、进展速度更快、病变更严重,不同诊断方法的患病率可变化在0.4%～90.8%.PAD的内科治疗一方面强调危险因素的全面干预,另一方面是针对间歇性跛行症状的药物.己酮可可碱、西洛他唑、沙格雷酯、前列腺素E等能改善行走距离,提高生活质量.一些新型药物正在进一步研究中.     

糖尿病患者下肢动脉病变筛查及危险因素分析

目的通过踝肱指数（ABI）检查,探讨住院糖尿病患者下肢外周动脉病变（PAD）的患病率,并分析影响ABI的危险因素。方法纳入华西医院内分泌科2004年8月～2006年12月住院糖尿病患者665例,使用多普勒血管超声仪检测ABI,同时检测血小板、血脂、尿酸、HbA1c和纤维蛋白原（Fib）等 通过回归分析探讨影响ABI的危险因素。结果665例糖尿病患者中,ABI降低组（ABI〈0.9）107例（16.1%） ABI升高组（ABI≥1.3）51例（7.7%） ABI及PBI均正常者（0.9≤ABI〈1.3）516例（76.2%）。与ABI正常者相比,ABI降低组患者年龄更大,病程更长,收缩压、血尿酸、TC、LDL-C、血小板、Fib更高 多因素logistic逐步回归分析显示年龄、血小板数和Fib水平是导致ABI降低的独立危险因素 而病程和LDL-C是导致ABI升高的危险因素。结论通过ABI检测发现,大约23.8%的住院糖尿病患者存在PAD 合并糖尿病PAD的患者血压、血脂以及尿酸代谢紊乱更为明显,且合并血液高凝状态。因此,对门诊和住院糖尿病患者,应常规进行ABI检测以早期发现糖尿病PAD 严格控制血压、血脂、尿酸以及改善高凝状态对于预防糖尿病PAD至关重要。     

男性糖尿病患者踝臂指数与全因和心血管病死亡率关系的前瞻性研究

目的研究男性糖尿病患者外周动脉疾病（PDA）的危险因素及踝臂指数（ABI）与全因和心血管病（CVD）死亡率的关系。方法研究对象来自2004年7月至2005年1月北京及上海地区8所医院的有完整ABI基线资料的男性糖尿病患者815例，于2005年11月至2006年1月对其进行随访调查。结果815例男性糖尿病患者中，ABI降低的PAD组250例（30．67％），ABI正常的非PAD组565例（69．33％），年龄和吸烟史是PAD的独立危险因素，在13．6个月的随访中，有70例死亡，其中27例为CVD死亡。经Cox回归分析，PAD患者发生全因及CVD死亡的相对危险度分别为1．744（1．056—2．877）和3．677（1．588～8．509）。PAD组的生存率显著低于非PAD组。随ABI水平的降低，发生死亡及CVD死亡的危险增加。结论低ABI是男性糖尿病患者死亡和CVD死亡的独立危险因素，在男性糖尿病人群中运用无创性ABI测定对全因死亡及CVD。死亡具有预测价值。     

Effects of successful percutaneous lower extremity revascularization on cardiovascular outcome in patients with peripheral arterial disease

Background

Lower extremity peripheral arterial disease (LE-PAD) reduces walking capacity and is associated with an increased cardiovascular risk. Endovascular revascularization of LE-PAD improves walking performance and quality of life. In the present study, we determined whether successful lower limbs revascularization also impacts cardiovascular outcome in LE-PAD patients.

Methods

479 consecutive LE-PAD patients at stage II of Fontaine's classification, with ankle/brachial index ≤ 0.90 and one or more stenosis > 50% in at least one leg artery, were enrolled in the study. According to the Trans-Atlantic Inter Society Consensus II recommendations, 264 (55.1%) underwent percutaneous lower extremity angioplasty (PTA group), while 215 (44.9%) were managed with conservative therapy (MT group). The incidence of major cardiovascular events (including cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, coronary and carotid revascularizations) was prospectively analyzed by Kaplan–Meier curves. Crude and adjusted HRs (95% CI) of developing a cardiovascular event were calculated by Cox analysis.

Results

No baseline differences were observed among the groups, except for a lower maximum walking distance in the PTA group. During a median follow-up of 21 months (12.0–29.0), the incidence of cardiovascular events was markedly lower in PTA compared to MT patients (6.4% vs. 16.3%; p = 0.003), and patients in the MT group showed a 4.1-fold increased cardiovascular risk compared to patients in the PTA group, after adjustment for potential confounders (95% CI 1.22–13.57, p = 0.023).

Conclusions

This study shows that successful revascularization of LE-PAD patients affected by intermittent claudication, in addition to improving functional status, reduces the occurrence of future major cardiovascular events.     

踝肱指数诊断糖尿病下肢动脉病变的临床意义

目的 了解踝肱动脉血压指数（ABI）在诊断T2DM患者下肢动脉病变中的意义及其影响因素。方法 采用多普勒血流探测仪测定糖尿病患者的足背动脉、胫后动脉与肱动脉的比值，以比值小于0．9为异常。结果 本组280例患者中检出ABI〈0．9者60例，占21．4％。合并下肢动脉病变组与正常组比较，前者的年龄大、病程长、餐后血糖、TG、LDL-C、UAlb／Cr比值的对数值、脉压差、吸烟率和合并冠心病率明显增高，DBP和HbA1c达标率明显降低。逐步回归分析显示，年龄、病程、TG、HbA1c是影响ABI的独立因素。结论 ABI是一项花费小、简单无创的诊断下肢动脉病变的可靠指标。增龄、病程长、高TG、高血糖是加剧下肢动脉硬化的主要因素。     

Peripheral arterial disease: Epidemiology, natural history, diagnosis and treatment

Lower extremity peripheral arterial disease (PAD) affects approximately 10% of the American population, with 30% to 40% of these patients presenting with claudication symptoms. The prevalence of PAD increases with age and the number of vascular risk factors. More importantly, it is a marker of atherosclerotic disease burden, and is associated with increased mortality from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular causes. There have been recent advances in noninvasive imaging, endovascular approaches for revascularization, and aggressive risk factor management for prevention of cardiac and cerebrovascular complications in PAD. There is now a trend toward aggressive risk factor modification and endovascular revascularization for most patients, with surgical interventions reserved for certain situations only. In the present article, a systematic review is presented, focusing on the key aspects of the disease epidemiology, presentation, natural history, diagnosis and available management options.     

Improving risk assessment with cardiac testing in peripheral arterial disease

Purpose

The study’s objective was to evaluate the prognostic value of left ventricular ejection fraction and stress-induced ischemia during dobutamine stress echocardiography, in addition to ankle-brachial index measurements and clinical risk factors in patients with suspected or known peripheral arterial disease.

Methods

In 852 patients with suspected or known peripheral arterial disease (mean age 63 years, 70% male), the ankle-brachial index was measured, left ventricular ejection fraction was assessed, and all patients underwent additional stress testing. Endpoints were all-cause mortality and hard cardiac events (cardiac death or nonfatal myocardial infarction).

Results

During a mean follow-up of 7.6 ± 4.4 years, death occurred in 288 patients (34%), and hard cardiac events occurred in 216 patients (25%). Mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 50% ± 17%, and stress-induced ischemia was observed in 352 patients (41%). In multivariate analysis with adjustment for clinical risk factors and ankle-brachial index, each 5% decrease in left ventricular ejection fraction was associated with increased all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 1.05, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-1.09) and hard events (HR 1.14, 95% CI, 1.08-1.21). Stress-induced ischemia also independently predicted all-cause mortality (HR 2.01, 95% CI, 1.38-2.79) and hard events (HR 2.06, 95% CI, 1.39-3.08). Left ventricular ejection fraction and stress-induced ischemia provided incremental prognostic information over clinical data and ankle-brachial index values (P <.001).

Conclusions

Left ventricular ejection fraction and stress-induced ischemia independently predict long-term outcome and improve prognostic risk assessment, in addition to ankle-brachial index and clinical risk factors in patients with suspected or known peripheral arterial disease.     

2型糖尿病患者踝臂指数与尿微量白蛋白／肌酐比值的相关性

目的 探讨2型糖尿病（T2DM）患者踝臂指数（ABI）与尿微量白蛋白/肌酐比值（UACR）的相关性.方法 将141例2型糖尿病患者分为正常ABI组（0.9≤ABI＜ 1.4,99例）和异常ABI组（ABI＜ 0.9,42例）,分析两组的性别、年龄、病程、体重指数（BMI）、UACR、尿素氮（BUN）、总胆固醇/三酰甘油（TC/TG）、糖化血红蛋白（HbA1c）等指标.结果 与正常ABI组比较,异常ABI组患者的病程、BUN、UACR、HbA1c水平升高,两组比较差异有统计学意义（P＜0.05）.ABI与病程、UACR、BUN呈负相关（相关系数分别为-0.634、-0.757和-0.578,P均＜0.01）.结论 ABI与UACR呈负相关.异常ABI具有重要预警意义,能较早期地反映糖尿病患者肾功能的受损,对于筛查早期糖尿病肾病有重要临床意义.     

Association of borderline ankle-brachial index with mortality and the incidence of peripheral artery disease in diabetic patients

Objective

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) and diabetes mellitus are significant risk factors for all-cause death or cardiovascular death. PAD occurs more frequently in diabetic than in non-diabetic patients. However, the association of ankle-brachial index (ABI), especially borderline ABI, with clinical outcomes has not been fully elucidated in diabetic patients. This study aimed to investigate the association of ABI with mortality and the incidence of PAD in Japanese diabetic patients.

Methods

This observational study included 3981 diabetic patients (61.0 ± 11.8 years of age, 59.4% men), registered in the Kyushu Prevention Study for Atherosclerosis. Patients were divided into 3 groups according to the value of ABI at baseline: ABI ≤0.90 (abnormal ABI:354 patients), 0.91 ≤ ABI ≤ 0.99 (borderline ABI:333 patients), and 1.00 ≤ ABI ≤ 1.40 (normal ABI:3294 patients).

Results

Cumulative incidence of all-cause death was significantly higher in patients with abnormal and borderline ABI than in those with normal ABI (34.4% vs. 13.5%, P < 0.0001 and 26.1% vs. 13.5%, P < 0.0001, respectively). In multivariate analysis, the risks for all-cause death in patients with abnormal ABI (HR:2.16; 95%CI:1.46–3.14; P = 0.0002) and borderline ABI (HR:1.78; 95%CI:1.14–2.70; P = 0.01) were significantly higher than in those with normal ABI. The incidence of PAD was remarkably higher in patients with borderline ABI than in those with normal ABI (32.2% vs.9.6%, P < 0.0001). After adjustment, the risk for PAD was significantly higher in patients with borderline ABI than in those with normal ABI (HR:3.10; 95%CI:1.90–4.95; P < 0.0001).

Conclusions

Borderline ABI in diabetic patients was associated with significantly higher risks for mortality and PAD compared with normal ABI.     

Using ankle-brachial index to detect peripheral arterial disease: prevalence and associated risk factors in a random population sample

Background and aimThe ankle-brachial index (ABI) is being used increasingly to diagnose peripheral arterial disease (PAD) that predicts cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of PAD and associated risk factors in a Spanish random population sample of age ≥40.Methods and resultsPAD is defined as an ABI < 0.9 in either leg. 784 participants of age ≥40 were randomly selected in a Spanish province. 55.4% of them were female. The prevalence of PAD in this sample was 10.5% (95% confidence interval (CI) 8.4–12.8); 9.7% in females and 11.4% in males. In logistic regression analyses, adjusted for age and gender, smoking per 10 pack-years (odds ratio (OR) 1.40, 95% CI 1.23–1.58), hypertension (OR 1.85, 95% CI 1.05–3.28), hypercholesterolemia (OR 1.76, 95% CI 1.04–2.98), and diabetes (OR 1.80, 95% CI 1.04–3.11) were positively associated with prevalent PAD. More than 91% of persons with PAD had one or more cardiovascular disease risk factors.ConclusionsWe conclude that in our study hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes mellitus and smoking are associated with PAD. The majority of individuals with PAD had at least one important cardiovascular risk factor advanced enough to be considered eligible for an aggressive treatment.     

Correlation between peripheral arterial disease and coronary artery disease using ankle brachial index-a study in Indian population

ObjectiveTo study the prevalence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) of the lower limbs in a high-risk population and its correlation with coronary artery disease (CAD), using the ankle brachial index (ABI).MethodsThe present study was conducted in randomly selected indoor patients >45 years of age with one or more risk factors for PAD admitted in the cardiology and medicine wards in a tertiary care institute.ResultsBased on ABI <0.9, PAD was diagnosed in 32 of the 182 (18%) patients. Coronary artery disease was present in 15 cases of PAD which was statistically significant.ConclusionThere is a definite and strong correlation between PAD and CAD. Correct diagnosis and supervision of patients with PAD is important for preventing the local progression of the disease and effective secondary prevention of future coronary and cerebrovascular events.     

A pilot study showing an association between platelet hyperactivity and the severity of peripheral arterial disease

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a chronic fibroproliferative inflammatory condition associated with progressive vascular stenosis. We set out to determine the relationship between spontaneous stirring-induced platelet aggregation in whole blood and the severity of lower-limb PAD, represented by the ankle-brachial pressure index (ABPI). ABPI was determined pre- and post-exercise in 31 subjects (20 men and 11 women) with established PAD. Platelets counts were determined in EDTA blood (total count) and in citrated whole blood after stirring in the absence of added ADP (spontaneous aggregation) and in the presence of added ADP (ADP-induced) for 3?min at 37°C. Aggregation was calculated as a percentage of the total platelet count. Spontaneous platelet aggregation showed an inverse correlation with pre-exercise ABPI (r?=??0.32; P?<?0.05) and ADP-induced aggregation correlated inversely with post-exercise ABPI (r?=??0.34; P?<?0.05). These results indicate that platelet hyperactivity is associated with increasing severity of PAD. Increased platelet aggregation may result in thromboembolic events in the affected limb.