Improvement of quality of life six months after infrageniculate bypass surgery: diabetic patients benefit less than non-diabetic patients.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of the study was to assess the change in health related quality of life (HRQoL) after infrageniculate bypass grafting in patients with critical limb ischaemia (CLI).


METHODS
Observational, prospective clinical study.


METHODS
In total, 86 patients (72% male; age 71 (IQR, 64-78) years) undergoing infrageniculate bypass grafting for limb salvage were assessed by the short form (SF)-36 questionnaire before and 6 months after surgery. In subgroup analysis, the influence of diabetes mellitus, age, gender, and stage of peripheral arterial occlusive disease on HRQoL-outcome were assessed.


RESULTS
Following revascularization HRQoL significantly improved in all eight dimensions of the SF-36. While baseline HRQoL-values of diabetic and non-diabetic patients did not differ significantly, postoperative improvement was significantly less in the diabetes group.


CONCLUSIONS
An aggressive approach towards infrageniculate bypass surgery for limb salvage is justified by quality of life improvement. However, this improvement tends to be less in patients with diabetes mellitus.
Division of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, Military Hospital Ulm, Ulm/Donau, Germany. m-engelhardt@web.de
M
M
Engelhardt
H
H
Bruijnen
C
C
Scharmer
N
N
Jezdinsky
K
K
Wölfle
D000368:Aged; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000098:blood supply*; D023821:Limb Salvage / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011150:Popliteal Artery / Q000601:surgery; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016909:Tibial Arteries / Q000601:surgery; D014680:Veins / Q000637:transplantation