English

Abstract

BACKGROUND Chronic arterial insufficiency (CAI) results in stenotic-occlusive disease of vascularized arterial disorders of tissues and organs. CAI of the lower extremities represents a significant medical and socio-economic problem due to a high incidence of morbidity, invalidity and mortality. METHODS A cross sectional analytical study was conducted in a group of 100 patients, admitted at the Vascular Department of the Sri Venkateshwara Ramnaraian Ruia Government General Hospital, Tirupati during the period from September 2018 to August 2019, with evident symptoms and signs of different stages of lower extremities CAI verified by ultrasonography. In patients with lower extremity disorder of tissue arterial capillaries, SpO2 was determined by pulse oximetry. CAI of the lower extremity was determined on the basis of clinical findings and colour Doppler duplex scan echo sonography results. Using the conventional method (single-gate) and colour Doppler duplex scan (multi-gate), the presence and localization of stenosis, the segmental predominance (with multisegmental forms) and the degree of progression of stenotic-occlusive lesions were verified. RESULTS Results Using pulse oximetry, depending on the of stage of lower extremities CAI, we revealed a considerable difference in the stages of functional ischemia Mean SpO2: Fontaine I – 95.50 %, Fontaine II – 92.90; in stage critical ischemia SpO2: Fontaine III – 65.00 % and Fontaine IV – 49.87 %. In 29 patients with gangrenous foot and fingers SpO2 was immeasurable and progressive decrease in SpO2 of arterial capillaries (p<0.01 between stages). CONCLUSIONS Due to the reliability and simplicity of pulse oximetry it can be a routinely used diagnostic device for patients with early determined stage of lower extremities CAI. KEYWORDS Chronic Arterial Insufficiency, SPO2, Pulse Oximetry, Ischemia