Evaluation of early changes of femoral artery elasticity in type 2 diabetes mellitus combined with microalbuminuria patients using ultrasound radio-frequency

Abstract

Objective To evaluate early changes of femoral artery elasticity in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) combined with microalbuminuria (MA) patients using ultrasound radio-frequency technology, and to study the clinical significance. Methods 51 T2DM without MA patients were enrolled in Group A, and 53 T2DM with MA patients were enrolled in Group B. In order to observe the early elastic changes in the subjects, two-dimensional ultrasound was used to eliminate patients whose intima-media thickness (IMT) was >1 mm. The femoral arteries were imaged by two-dimensional ultrasonography, and then the IMT, femoral artery inner diameter (D), distensibility coefficient (DC), compliance coefficient (CC), elasticity coefficient (α and β), and pulse wave velocity (PWV) were real-time tested using quality intima-media thickness (QIMT) and quality arterial stiffness (QAS) analyzing systems. Besides, the differences and correlation analyses of these parameters between the two groups were conducted. In addition, some other parameters of sujects in both group A and B were also determined and analysed, including total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), creatinine (CREA), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting blood glucose (FPG), 2h postprandial plasma glucose (2hPG) and body mass index (BMI). Results There were no significant differences in the elastic parameters of femoral arteries between the male and female subjects (P>0.05), and between left and right sides (P>0.05) within a same group. Compared with group A, group B had lower CC and DC (P 0.05). The levels of TG, HbA1c, FPG and 2hPG in group B were significantly higher than those in group A (P 0.05). Conclusions The decrease of arterial elastic function is earlier than morphological changes, that is, it may have occurred before MA in T2DM patients. The application of ultrasound radio-frequency analyzing technology has certain significance in the clinical early diagnosis and treatment. Key words: Ultrasonography; Type 2 diabetes mellitus; Microalbuminuria; Femoral artery