Correlating clinical indicators of lower-limb ischaemia with quality of life1
Section snippets
Patients
This study received approval from the ethics committee of St. James's and Seacroft University Hospitals. A consecutive series of 235 patients presenting with various grades of lower-limb ischaemia were invited to participate in the study. Those patients who were enrolled in the study gave informed written consent. The severity of patients lower-limb ischaemia was graded according to ISCVS criteria [6]. Patients underwent measurement of: ankle:brachial pressure indices; intermittent claudication
Results
With progressively increasing lower-limb ischaemia, there was a significant increase in the patients' age and a significant deterioration in all measured clinical parameters (intermittent claudication distance, maximum walking distance, ankle:brachial pressure index isotope limb blood flow) of lower-limb ischaemia (Table 1).
Discussion
Increasing lower-limb ischaemia results in a significant deterioration in all EQ measured domains of quality of life. As may be expected, high percentages of patients in all groups reported problems with mobility, and all patients in all groups reported some pain. However, other effects of lower-limb ischaemia on quality of life may not have been so easily predicted. For example, patients with claudication report a 15–20% incidence of problems washing and dressing, a 70% incidence of limitation
Acknowledgements
Financial support for this study was received from the Northern and Yorkshire Regional Health Authority Research Fellowship Scheme and from the Yorkshire Vascular and Surgical Research Fund.
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- 1
Presented at the 45th International Congress of the European Society for Cardiovascular Surgery (Dos Santos Prize Session), Venice, Italy, September 1996.