title: Onychodystrophy: A possible marker for peripheral artery disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is quite common, particularly among the elderly. In advanced phases, it has an important impact in the quality of life, so it is recommended to identify this disease on early stages. Onychodystrophy is a deformity of the nail plate of any origin. Up to 50% are caused by fungal infection, the rest is mainly secondary to inflammatory processes. Nail inspection is a very accessible task, and valuation of PAD with the ankle-brachial index (ABI) is a noninvasive affordable technique.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred two self-reported healthy participants were recruited, and the ABI was obtained, as well as inspection of the toenails in search of onychodystrophy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Sixty-seven patients had abnormal ABI measurements. Of these, 39 were diagnosed as having onychodystrophy. These results are statistically significant to support the fact that onychodystrophy may be an early marker of asymptomatic PAD, allowing prompt intervention to ameliorate or stop disease progression.
authors.affiliation: Mycology Section, Hospital General "Dr. Manuel Gea González", Tlalpan, México D.F.. Electronic address: gmorenocoutino@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Moreno-Coutiño
authors.affiliation: Dermatology Division, Hospital General "Dr. Manuel Gea González", Tlalpan, México D.F.
authors.forename: Ramón
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fernández-Martínez
authors.affiliation: Mycology Section, Hospital General "Dr. Manuel Gea González", Tlalpan, México D.F.
authors.forename: Elisa Crystal
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Moreno
authors.affiliation: Dermatology Division, Hospital General "Dr. Manuel Gea González", Tlalpan, México D.F.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lozano-Platonoff
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Medicina, UNAM, Hospital General "Dr. Manuel Gea González", Tlalpan, México D.F.
authors.forename: Claudia Ivette
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Salinas
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Medicina, UNAM, Hospital General "Dr. Manuel Gea González", Tlalpan, México D.F.
authors.forename: Abraham
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rosas-González
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Medicina, UNAM, Hospital General "Dr. Manuel Gea González", Tlalpan, México D.F.
authors.forename: Carlos Abilio
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Mojica
authors.affiliation: Mycology Section, Hospital General "Dr. Manuel Gea González", Tlalpan, México D.F.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Arenas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D055109:Ankle Brachial Index; D015415:Biomarkers; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009260:Nail Diseases; D009264:Nails, Malformed; D058729:Peripheral Arterial Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers