A clinico-radiological study of Peripheral Arterial Disease in patients with type 2 Diabetes Mellitus using ankle-brachial index and peripheral arterial doppler

Abstract

Background: Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) is an important complication of Diabetes Mellitus (DM). PAD is a part of systemic illness caused by atherosclerosis, resulting in arterial narrowing. Hence PAD is a marker of atherosclerosis in other parts of the vascular system, especially in the arteries supplying the brain and heart. Over two - third of the patients with PAD are asymptomatic, resulting in inadequate treatment of their risk factors. There is a need to screen every DM patient for effective treatment of PAD and the risk factors. Ankle-brachial Index (ABI) is a useful test for the same. Objective: The objective of the study was to find out the incidence of PAD in DM and the factors affecting it. Materials and Methods: It was a hospital-based prospective observational study. In all, 200 diabetic patients from tertiary care hospital (outpatient and indoor) were screened for PAD using ABI, and those showing ABI < 0.9 were further confirmed using Duplex Ultrasonography (DUS). Smokers and patients with a previous history of lower limb surgery, vasculopathy, or trauma were excluded from the study. Factors affecting the incidence of PAD were also studied. Results: Overall incidence of PAD was 10% using ABI as a screening test, confirmed with DUS. Male gender, aging, obesity, duration of DM, poor control of DM, hypertension, coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, hyperlipidemia, and presence of retinopathy were found to be adversely affecting risk factors for PAD. Conclusion: ABI is a bedside, simple, reliable, non-invasive, and cost-effective clinical test for diagnosing PAD, a marker of atherosclerosis in the body. There is a need to screen for PAD, even in asymptomatic patients, for its early detection and management of risk factors.