ABSTRACT
Objective: Ankle brachial index [ABI] is widely accepted for the assessment of the degree of peripheral ischemia. Duplex scan is widely used for the investigation of peripheral ischemia. Velocities are routinely measured during Duplex scan. The purpose of this study is to determine whether peak systolic velocity [PSV] of the distal tibial arteries correlates with ABI. and therefore could be used as an alternative method for the assessment of the degree of peripheral ischemia
Material and Methods: Data was prospectively collected for 20 ischemic limbs and 5 healthy volunteers. The age, gender, risk factors, duplex findings, and ABI were recorded for each patient. Duplex PSV was assessed at the most distal segment of the anterior and posterior tibial arteries. Three readings were recorded for each artery, their mean was calculated. ABI was calculated for the anterior tibial and posterior tibial arteries. A mean ABI for both tibial arteries was also calculated. Mean PSV of the anterior tibial artery was correlated with its ABI, mean PSV of the posterior tibial artery was correlated with its ABI, and mean PSV of both tibial arteries was correlated with the mean ABI of both tibial arteries
Results: PSV of the anterior tibial artery correlated well with anterior tibial ABI [r=0.8], PSV of the posterior tibial artery correlated well with posterior tibial ABI [r=0.8], and mean PSV of both tibial arteries correlated well with the mean ABI of both tibial arteries [r=0.8]. in addition 10% of patients with severe ischemia [ABI=<0.4] had mean PSV =<25, and 20% of patients with moderate ischemia [ABI =0.4 to 07] had PSV ranging from 25 to 50, and 20% of patients with mild ischemia [ABI 0.7 to 1.0] had PSV=> 50, while 45% of healthy volunteers with no ischemia [ABI => 1.0] had PSV =>75
Conclusion: These results suggest that PSV measurements at the distal tibial arteries correlate well with ABI measurements. PSV measurements can be used to assess the degree of ischemia, in particular in patients where ABI is falsely elevated due to vessel wall calcification- Dear Wassila Please complete the data in the results section, and include the P value for the correlation ratios