Table 6 Education and management practices following a vascular assessment
From: Lower limb vascular assessment techniques of podiatrists in the United Kingdom: a national survey
Education topics discussed following vascular assessment a | Smoking cessation | 189 (69.5%) |
Exercise advice | 166 (61.0%) | |
Dietary advice | 67 (24.6%) | |
Diabetes control | 59 (21.7%) | |
Medication options | 55 (20.2%) | |
Interpretation of results of assessments | 49 (18.0%) | |
Lifestyle modifications | 46 (16.9%) | |
Referral options | 42 (15.4%) | |
Foot health self-care | 41 (15.1%) | |
Cardiovascular risk | 37 (13.6%) | |
Implications of reduced wound healing | 35 (12.9%) | |
Hypertension management | 27 (9.9%) | |
Pain management | 24 (8.8%) | |
Footwear advice | 23 (8.5%) | |
Weight management | 22 (8.1%) | |
Cholesterol lowering | 19 (7.0%) | |
Comorbidities | 17 (6.3%) | |
Alcohol reduction | 11 (4.0%) | |
Hosiery advice | 9 (3.3%) | |
Premature death | 9 (3.3%) | |
Family history | 7 (2.6%) | |
Keeping feet warm | 6 (2.2%) | |
Limb elevation | 5 (1.8%) | |
Moisturising skin | 4 (1.5%) | |
Limb compression | 2 (0.7%) | |
Adequate sleep | 2 (0.7%) | |
Stress reduction | 1 (0.4%) | |
Comfortable discussing premature vascular event due to PAD diagnosis b | Yes | 183 (64.4%) |
No | 52 (18.3%) | |
Unsure | 49 (16.9%) | |
Comfortable deciding on ongoing management of patient based on vascular assessment b | Yes | 205 (72.2%) |
No | 30 (10.6%) | |
Unsure | 49 (17.3%) | |
Initial referral following vascular assessment c | Vascular surgical team | 83 (28.3%) |
General practitioner | 158 (67.6%) | |
Vascular laboratory | 16 (5.5%) | |
Podiatry-led PAD team | 31 (10.6%) | |
Other | 14 (4.8%) |