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To determine whether foot transcutaneous oxygen tension (TcPO2) and ankle systolic blood pressure (SBP) measure similar aspects of peripheral vascular occlusive disease (PVOD), the authors examined their relationship at rest and following treadmill exercise. Thirty-seven PVOD patients (mean age 69.2 +/- 0.8 years) rested supine for twenty minutes, followed by a progressive treadmill walking test at a constant speed of 2 mph. The initial grade was 0%; this increased 2% every two minutes until maximal claudication pain (n = 19) or until the occurrence of such limiting symptoms as volitional fatigue (n = 6), ST segment depression (n = 4), dyspnea (n = 3), multiple premature ventricular contractions (n = 2), and angina (n = 2). Patients then rested supine for fifteen minutes. Foot TcPO2 was recorded before, during, and after exercise, whereas ankle SBP was measured before and after exercise. At rest, a curvilinear relationship was found between foot TcPO2 and ankle SBP (foot TcPO2 = 41.89 + 0.22(ankle SBP) + 0.0005 (ankle SBP2); SEE = 9.2, R = 0.64, R2 = 0.41, p less than 0.001). In contrast, the relationship was stronger and more linear during recovery, particularly at the sixth minute (foot TcPO2) = 8.33 + 0.35 (ankle SBP); SEE = 13.6, R = 0.86, R2 = 0.73, p less than 0.001). At rest, foot TcPO2 and ankle SBP characterized different aspects of PVOD because they shared only 41% common variance. During recovery, they provided similar information because up to 73% of the variance was shared. It is concluded that foot TcPO2 should also be used to assess PVOD patients because unique information is obtained at rest and values can be recorded during exercise.

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