title: Does angioplasty improve the quality of life for claudicants?: A prospective study.
abstract: This study aims to analyze the impact of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) for claudication on patients' quality of life (QOL). The patients in this study included 108 claudicants, 74 men and 34 women, with a median age of 67 years (range 40-87 years), who were assessed prior to and at 1, 3, and 6 months following PTA. This is the first report to demonstrate that the previously well-documented improvements in the clinical indicators of lower-limb ischemia are accompanied by improvements in individual QOL domains and in overall global QOL. These findings are detectable within a month following PTA and last at least 6 months. The results of this study may go some way to provide proof of efficacy for the procedure and thus help justify the recently questioned widespread use of PTA in clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, St. James's and Seacroft University Hospitals, Leeds, UK.
authors.forename: I C
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Chetter
authors.forename: J I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Spark
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Kester
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000800:Angioplasty, Balloon; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D007383:Intermittent Claudication / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome