One-year follow-up of patients screened for lower extremity arterial disease

Abstract

Background:We tested a screening algorithm of lower extremity arterial disease (LEAD) for general practitioners (GPs) with a 1-year follow-up examination. Besides, patients were referred for vascular specialists to verify the presence of LEAD with specific tools.Method: 327 patients were followed-up. We recorded the differences in the anamnesis. Ankle brachial index was re-measured. Patients repeated walking-test. We compared our results to the specialist control.Results: Specialists confirmed LEAD in 73.7%. 63.1% reported IC symptoms. Our screening algorithm had a sensitivity of 92%, and a specificity of 96%, positive and negative predictive values were 91% and 96%. Most LEADpositive patients received LEAD-specific medications (94.2%) and antiplatelet therapy (91.7%). Improvement in walking test were shown in 96 cases (29.3%). Conclusion:Our screening algorithm combined with specialist control has proven to be an easy-to-apply, and efficient methodology for GPs with excellent sensitivity and specificity in identifying individuals at risk of LEAD.