Predictive value of the ankle-brachial index in the evaluation of intermittent claudication

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the ankle-brachial index (ABI) could be used to predict the prognosis for a patient with intermittent claudication (IC). We studied 611 patients prospectively during 28 months of follow-up. We analyzed the predictive power of using various levels of ABI - 0.30 to 0.70 at 0.05 increments - in terms of the measure's specificity (association with a favorable outcome after exercise rehabilitation therapy) and sensitivity (association with a poor outcome after exercise rehabilitation therapy). We found that using an ABI of 0.30 as a cut-off value produced the lowest margin of error overall, but the predictive power was still low with respect to identifying the patients with a poor prognosis after non-aggressive therapeutic treatment. Further study is needed to perhaps identify a second factor that could increase the sensitivity of the test.

Isokinetic Strength and Endurance in Proximal and Distal Muscles in Patients With Peripheral Artery Disease

“…Patients with PAD were included in the study if they met the following criteria: Fontaine stage II PAD, 15 stable symptoms of IC for at least 6 months with history of no revascularization in the previous year, ankle-brachial index (ABI) at rest of 0.90 in both legs, 16 and exercise tolerance limited by IC symptoms. The control patients were included if they had no history of leg pain or other IC symptoms and presented ABI of >1.0 in both legs.…”

Relacao entre o nivel de atividade fisica estimado pelo Baltimore Activity Scale for Intermittent Claudication e a pedometria em pacientes com claudicacao intermitente

“…ABI was calculated by dividing the systolic blood pressure of the ankle with the higher pressure by the systolic blood pressure of the arm. These procedures have been described in detail elsewhere 15 .…”

Effects of oral N-acetylcysteine on walking capacity, leg reactive hyperemia, and inflammatory and angiogenic mediators in patients with intermittent claudication

“…Recent epidemiological studies indicate that PAD affects 1 in 10 people aged over 70 yr (19). Intermittent claudication (IC) is the main symptom of PAD and is characterized by walking-induced pain, typically in the calf muscles, that subsides with rest (66). Patients with IC have greatly impaired leg functioning and walking capacity (32,33).…”