Use of Doppler ultrasound in assessing leg ulcers.
This article outlines the use of a hand-held Doppler ultrasound device as an aid in the assessment of patients with active and healed leg ulcers. It describes the benefits and limitations of Doppler assessment, the steps of the procedure, how to calculate the ankle-brachial pressure index accurately and how to recognise the significance of the findings.
Anderson
I
I
School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield. i.1.anderson@herts.ac.uk
D000842:Ankle / Q000098:blood supply; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination / Q000379:methods* / Q000451:nursing; D001916:Brachial Artery / Q000503:physiopathology; D003971:Diastole; D006801:Humans; D007871:Leg Ulcer / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008433:Mathematics; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D019722:Sphygmomanometers; D013599:Systole; D018608:Ultrasonography, Doppler / Q000379:methods* / Q000451:nursing