Table 3 Vascular assessment prompts and equipment
From: Lower limb vascular assessment techniques of podiatrists in the United Kingdom: a national survey
Reasons/indicators to perform a vascular assessment | Symptoms of claudication | 274 (89.3%) |
Rest pain | 264 (86.0%) | |
Diabetes | 262 (85.3%) | |
Active wound | 261 (84.7%) | |
New patient assessment | 252 (82.1%) | |
History of poor healing | 249 (81.1%) | |
Assessment for nail surgery eligibility | 221 (71.7%) | |
Discolouration of skin | 210 (68.4%) | |
Cold feet | 205 (66.8%) | |
Referral request | 183 (59.6%) | |
Night cramps | 183 (59.6%) | |
Raynaud’s phenomena | 176 (57.3%) | |
History of cardiovascular disease | 175 (57.0%) | |
Chilblains | 169 (55.0%) | |
Active smoking | 168 (54.7%) | |
Smoking history | 165 (53.7%) | |
Burning feet | 133 (43.3%) | |
History of cerebrovascular disease | 119 (38.8%) | |
Advanced age | 110 (35.8%) | |
Hypertension | 77 (25.1%) | |
Widespread anhidrosis | 76 (24.8%) | |
Dyslipidaemia | 67 (21.8%) | |
Other | 20 (6.5%) | |
Vascular assessment equipment available in clinic | Hand-held Doppler without visual waveform display | 265 (86.3%) |
Blood Pressure Cuff and sphygmomanometer | 166 (54.1%) | |
Stethoscope | 76 (24.8%) | |
Hand-held Doppler with visual waveform display | 67 (21.8%) | |
Toe pressure cuff | 50 (16.3%) | |
Automated ankle brachial index machine | 27 (8.8%) | |
Photoplethysmography probe | 19 (6.2%) | |
TcPO2 unit | 17 (5.5%) | |
Automated toe pressure unit | 12 (3.9%) | |
None of the above | 6 (2.0%) | |
Other | 10 (3.3%) | |
Diagnostic testing used during a vascular assessment | Hand-held Doppler (waveform and/or pulses) | 222 (72.3%) |
Pedal pulse palpation | 160 (52.1%) | |
Visual assessment of skin and/or nails | 98 (31.9%) | |
Ankle brachial index | 98 (31.9%) | |
Patient medical history/symptoms | 69 (22.5%) | |
Capillary refill time | 60 (19.5%) | |
Temperature gradient | 51 (16.6%) | |
Buerger’s test | 26 (8.5%) | |
Toe brachial index | 18 (5.9%) | |
Edinburgh Claudication Questionnaire | 13 (4.2%) | |
Toe systolic pressure | 9 (2.9%) | |
Brachial Blood pressure | 7 (2.3%) | |
Pole test | 5 (1.6%) | |
SpO2 | 2 (0.7%) | |
TcP02 | 1 (0.3%) | |
Heart rate | 1 (0.3%) |