Associations Between Systolic Pressure, Vascular Waveform, and Volume Flow with Debridement or Amputation Treatment Decisions in Diabetic Foot Ulcer Patients.

INTRODUCTION: Diabetic foot ulcer disease, affecting 6.3% of the global population, necessitates crucial decisions regarding debridement and amputation, with substantial cost, morbidity, and mortality implications. This study's primary goal is to determine effective vascular examination modalities, including systolic blood pressure, vascular waveforms, and blood volume flow to guide optimal treatments for diabetic foot patients. METHOD: This cross-sectional study at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital aimed to identify effective vascular examination modalities, such as systolic blood pressure, vascular waveforms, and blood volume flow, to guide treatment choices for diabetic foot patients. The study included 38 subjects, equally split between debridement and amputation groups. RESULTS: Notably, the presence of a biphasic pattern in popliteal artery vascular examinations was associated with the decision for amputation in diabetic foot patients (p < 0.05). The Chi-square test revealed that a biphasic ultrasound pattern served as a predictive factor for amputation among diabetic foot patients, with three times more biphasic patients choosing amputation over debridement. Conversely, assessments of popliteal artery systolic pressure, common femoral artery waveform, popliteal artery volume flow, and common femoral artery volume flow showed no significant correlations with the choice of debridement or amputation treatment for diabetic foot patients. CONCLUSION: In summary, ultrasound assessment of vascular waveform in the popliteal artery emerges as a predictive factor for amputation or debridement in diabetic foot patients.

Brachiocephalic arteriovenous fistula maturity in end stage renal disease: The role of intraoperative brachial artery blood flow rate and peak systolic velocity.

Introduction: Arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is the preferred vascular access option due to its lower risk of complications and better long-term outcomes. However, AVF maturation failure is still quite high. Achieving an adequate blood flow rate (BFR) through the AVF is essential for maintaining hemodialysis adequacy. This study aims to investigate brachial artery intraoperative BFR and peak systolic velocity (PSV) increase as a predictor of brachiocephalic AVF maturation. Methods: A multicenter retrospective cohort study was conducted on patients with end stage renal disease undergoing brachiocephalic AVF creation from July 2019 to February 2022 from five hospitals. Doppler ultrasound examinations of BFR and PSV were collected. BFR and PSV increases were calculated by comparing pre-operative and intraoperative results. Maturity was determined at 6 weeks postoperatively. Results: This study included 83 patients, with 50 patients (60.24%) achieving maturity at 6 weeks. Brachial artery BFR difference has an excellent diagnostic value to predict brachiocephalic AVF maturation with an area under the curve (AUC) of 97%. BFR increase of 184.58 ml/min predicts brachiocephalic AVF maturity with a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 84.8%, and accuracy of 93.98%. Meanwhile, brachial artery PSV increase has a low diagnostic value to predict brachiocephalic AVF with an AUC of 71.2%. PSV increase of 8.97 cm/s predicts brachiocephalic AVF maturity with a sensitivity of 82%, specificity of 51.5%, and accuracy of 69.9%. Conclusion: The increase in intraoperative brachial artery BFR and PSV in brachiocephalic AVF can be used as a useful parameter to predict AVF maturation.

Risk Factors of Asymptomatic Carotid Artery Disease in Geriatric Evaluated Using Carotid Intima-Media Thickness (IMT) Measurement, the First Indonesian Population Study.

Carotid artery disease in geriatric is one of the important etiologies of stroke, which topped the cause of mortality in Indonesia. Specific prevention should be done as early as asymptomatic disease occurred. Initial assessment can be performed using ultrasound by measuring the intima-media thickness (IMT) of carotid artery, which can evaluate earlier progression of the atherosclerosis process. Unfortunately, we do not have risk factors categorization that show us which geriatric population fall under high-risk stratification to be screened. Study was done to Indonesian geriatric population. Asymptomatic carotid disease was tested positive if IMT was > 0.9 mm without any previous neurological symptoms. Correlation of the result was statistically tested with risk factors of atherosclerotic process, such as sex, body mass index, presence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and hypercholesterolemia. Study obtained 104 subjects and showed the prevalence of asymptomatic carotid disease was 37.5%. Two risk factors: diabetes mellitus and hypercholesterolemia were statistically significant ( p = 0.01) with odds ratio (OR) 3.56 (1.31-9.64, 95% confidence interval [CI]) and OR 2.85 (1.25-6.51, CI 95%), respectively. Logistic regression showed the risk was 69.2% by having two of these comorbidities, 47.2 or 42.5% if diabetes mellitus or hypercholesterolemia was present. As diabetes mellitus and hypercholesterolemia were proved to be significant risk factors for asymptomatic carotid artery disease, we recommend performing ultrasound screening to measure carotid artery IMT for geriatric population who had diabetes mellitus and/or hypercholesterolemia for asymptomatic carotid artery disease to be diagnosed and further treated.

The Correlation of Short-Chain Fatty Acids with Peripheral Arterial Disease in Diabetes Mellitus Patients.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a significant risk factor for peripheral arterial disease (PAD). PAD affects 20% of DM patients over 40 and has increased by 29% in the last 50 years. The gut microbiota produces short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that affect atherosclerosis. SCFA inhibits inflammation, which contributes to atherosclerosis. This study tried to link feces SCFA levels to atherosclerosis in people with diabetes with peripheral arterial disease (PAD). The study included 53 people with diabetes and PAD: gas chromatography-mass spectrometry measured acetate, butyrate, and propionate levels in feces samples (GC-MS). There was a positive correlation between random blood glucose (RBG) levels, peak systolic velocity (PSV), volume flow (VF), plaque, relative and absolute acetate, relative valerate, butyrate, and propionate. This supports the idea that elevated SCFA levels in type 2 diabetic (T2D) patients reduce adipose tissue inflammation and cholesterol metabolism, contributing to atherosclerosis pathogenesis. We conclude that increased fecal SCFA excretion is linked to cardiovascular disease. To determine the causal effect correlation of the SCFA with clinical and laboratory parameters for PAD in DM patients, compare the SCFA in plasma and feces, and account for confounding variables, a specific method with larger sample sizes and more extended follow-up periods is required.

Effectiveness of Doppler Ultrasonography as a Predictor of Wound Healing after Below-Knee Amputation for Peripheral Arterial Disease.

Background: tool is needed to predict how wound following below-knee amputation (BKA) surgery will heal in patient with peripheral artery disease (PAD). Ultrasonography is an alternative to evaluate the condition of the arteries. We conducted a study to investigate the association between doppler ultrasonography as pre-amputation assessment with primary wound healing following BKA surgery. Methods: A case-control study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of ultrasonography as a predictor of the wound healing. Bivariate and multivariate analysis were performed to explore association between ultrasonography indicators including peak systolic velocity, volume flow, arterial diameter, and distal artery spectral waveform with wound healing following BKA. Ultrasonography assessments were conducted on the popliteal artery, anterior tibial artery, and posterior tibial artery. Results: Based on the multivariate analysis on all arteries, there were statistically significant associations of peak systolic velocity (adjusted odd ratio [OR]= 5.584, 95% confidence interval [CI]= 1.291 24.157, p= 0.021), volume flow (adjusted OR= 4.760, 95% CI= 1.200 18.876, p= 0.026), and arterial diameter (adjusted OR= 6.507, 95% CI= 1.510 - 28.033, p= 0.012) with wound healing after BKA. Conclusions: Doppler ultrasonography of PAD can be used as a predictive pre-amputation testing modality to predict wound healing after BKA.