The relationship between the delayed improvement in ankle-brachial pressure index and changes in limb volume following balloon angioplasty for leg ischaemia.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the association between changes in the ankle-brachial pressure index (ABPI) and simultaneous changes in calf volume following percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) for chronic leg ischaemia.


METHODS
A total of 37 consecutive patients undergoing PTA for chronic leg ischaemia.


METHODS
Bilateral calf volume, as calculated from girth measurements, and ABPI were determined before PTA, and repeated 24 h and 1 week following the procedure. Changes in the calf volume of the treated leg, both absolute and relative to changes of the non-treated leg, were then related to simultaneous changes in ABPI.


RESULTS
Twenty-four hours following PTA, the calf volumes of both legs were decreased, although the ratio of the treated: untreated leg had increased by 2.4% (CI + 1.1-3.7, p < 0.01). After 1 week there was no difference in calf volume. These patterns were observed both in the 21 patients who had ABPI improvement of 0.15 or more 1 week following PTA, and in the 16 whose ABPI was unchanged. In the former group ABPI improved by a further 0.13 between 24 h and 1 week following PTA (p < 0.05), but there was no relationship between this delayed ABPI increase and simultaneous changes in calf volume.


CONCLUSIONS
We did not detect any significant calf swelling following PTA. Furthermore, changes in ABPI were not related to changes in calf volume.
Ray
S A
SA
Department of Vascular Surgery and Interventional Radiology, St. George's Hospital Medical School, London, U.K.
Buckenham
T M
TM
Belli
A M
AM
Taylor
R S
RS
Dormandy
J A
JA
D000800:Angioplasty, Balloon; D000842:Ankle / Q000098:blood supply*; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D001916:Brachial Artery / Q000502:physiology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006801:Humans; D007511:Ischemia / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D007866:Leg / Q000098:blood supply*; D013997:Time Factors