Intermittent Claudication: Predictors and Outcome

Abstract

The authors reviewed 460 patients with intermittent claudication. With primarily conservative management, these patients were followed for an average of 4.1 years (one to ten years). The mean age was 71.7 years, ranging from thirty-six to eighty-four years; 55.9% were males. The subsequent follow-up study revealed that the status of 44.1% of the patients with underlying arterial insufficiency deteriorated. Eventually, they underwent vascular surgery for limb-threatening ischemia. From this study, the analysis of the parameters could predict the clinical outcome of intermittent claudication at the time of initial and follow-up evaluation. During initial evaluation, when the ankle brachial index (ABI) was higher than 0.7 or when follow-up evaluation did not show a decrease of ABI by 0.15, the chance of favorable outcome was increased by 2.4 and 1.6 times respectively. When the ABI was less than 0.5 at the initial evaluation and decreased 0.15 or more during follow-up studies, the risk of requiring vascular surgery for limb salvage increased by 3.8 and 1.9 times, respectively. The onset of major vascular events in other areas appeared to influence the time of significant deterioration in the lower limb arterial disease, indicating multifactorial and systemic contribution in the natural history of intermittent claudication. In this homogeneous patient population with arterial insufficiency referred to the vascular surgeon, conservative management with strong supervision for smoking cessation, exercise, diet control, body weight reduction, and medical regimen can modify the natural course of intermittent claudication and associated vascular problems.