C. V. Ruckley

Chronic ulceration of the leg: extent of the problem and provision of care.

A postal survey in two health board areas in Scotland, encompassing a population of about one million, identified 1477 patients with chronic ulcers of the leg. Women outnumbered men by a ratio of 2.8:1. The median age of the women was 74 and of the men 67. Seventy two (5%) were hospital inpatients, 174 (12%) were managed jointly by the primary care team and outpatient departments, and 1201 (83%) were managed entirely in the community. Efforts to improve the management of chronic ulcers of the leg should focus on primary health care.

Prevalence of varicose veins and chronic venous insufficiency in men and women in the general population: Edinburgh Vein Study.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of varicose veins and chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) in the general population. DESIGN: Cross sectional survey. SETTING: City of Edinburgh. PARTICIPANTS: Men and women aged 18-64 years selected randomly from age-sex registers of 12 general practices. MAIN RESULTS: In 1566 subjects examined, the age adjusted prevalence of trunk varices was 40% in men and 32% in women (p < or = 0.01). This sex difference was mostly a result of higher prevalence of mild trunk varices in men. More than 80% of all subjects had mild hyphenweb and reticular varices. The age adjusted prevalence of CVI was 9% in men and 7% in women (p < or = 0.05). The prevalence of all categories of varices and of CVI increased with age (p < or = 0.001). No relation was found with social class. CONCLUSIONS: Approximately one third of men and women aged 18-64 years had trunk varices. In contrast with the findings in most previous studies, mainly conducted in the 1960s and 1970s, chronic venous insufficiency and mild varicose veins were more common in men than women. No evidence of bias in the study was found to account for this sex difference. Changes in lifestyle or other factors might be contributing to an alteration in the epidemiology of venous disease.

Use of ankle brachial pressure index to predict cardiovascular events and death : a cohort study

Abstract Objective: To determine whether a low ankle brachial pressure index is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events and death, and whether the prediction of such events could be improved by including this index. Design: Cohort study. Setting: 11 practices in Edinburgh, Scotland. Subjects: 1592 men and women aged 55–74 years selected at random from the age-sex registers of 11 general practices and followed up for 5 years. Main outcome measures: Incidence of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events and all cause mortality. Results: At baseline 90 (5.7%) of subjects had an ankle brachial pressure index </=0.7, 288 (18.2%) had an index </=0.9, and 566 (35.6%) </=1.0. After five years subjects with an index </=0.9 at baseline had an increased risk of non-fatal myocardial infarction (relative risk 1.38, 95% confidence interval 0.88 to 2.16), stroke (1.98, 1.05 to 3.77), cardiovascular death (1.85, 1.15 to 2.97), and all cause mortality (1.58, 1.14 to 2.18) after adjustment for age, sex, coronary disease, and diabetes at baseline. The ability to predict subsequent events was greatly increased by combining the index with other risk factors—for example, hypertensive smokers with normal cholesterol concentrations had a positive predictive value of 25.0%, increasing to 43.8% in subjects with a low index and decreasing to 15.6% in those with a normal index. Conclusion: The ankle brachial pressure index is a good predictor of subsequent cardiovascular events, and improves on predictions by conventional risk factors alone. It is simple and accurate and could be included in routine screening of cardiovascular status. Key messages In this study individuals with a low ankle brachial pressure index had an increased risk of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events The index was a good predictor of subsequent cardiovascular events, and improved that of conventional risk factors alone The ankle brachial pressure index could be included in routine screening of cardiovascular status Individuals with a low ankle brachial pressure index require additional monitoring, and might benefit from aspirin or other secondary preventive measures

Chronic ulcer of the leg: clinical history

Six hundred patients with chronic leg ulcers were studied by detailed history and examination as part of a population survey. In 22% ulceration began before the age of 40, and in this group the sex incidence was equal. Over age 40 there was an increasing preponderance of women. Ulcers were significantly more common in the left leg in women but not in men. The site of 26% of ulcers did not include the classical medial goiter area. The median duration of the ulceration at the time of the survey was nine months and 20% had not healed in over two years. The great majority of patients had had recurrence, 66% having had episodes of ulceration for more than five years. Healing of ulcers is a serious problem, but preventing recurrence is the greater challenge.

Bypass versus Angioplasty in Severe Ischaemia of the Leg (BASIL) trial: An intention-to-treat analysis of amputation-free and overall survival in patients randomized to a bypass surgery-first or a balloon angioplasty-first revascularization strategy

BACKGROUND A 2005 interim analysis of the Bypass versus Angioplasty in Severe Ischaemia of the Leg (BASIL) trial showed that in patients with severe lower limb ischemia (SLI; rest pain, ulceration, gangrene) due to infrainguinal disease, bypass surgery (BSX)-first and balloon angioplasty (BAP)-first revascularization strategies led to similar short-term clinical outcomes, although BSX was about one-third more expensive and morbidity was higher. We have monitored patients for a further 2.5 years and now report a final intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis of amputation-free survival (AFS) and overall survival (OS). METHODS Of 452 enrolled patients in 27 United Kingdom hospitals, 228 were randomized to a BSX-first and 224 to a BAP-first revascularization strategy. All patients were monitored for 3 years and more than half for >5 years. RESULTS At the end of follow-up, 250 patients were dead (56%), 168 (38%) were alive without amputation, and 30 (7%) were alive with amputation. Four were lost to follow-up. AFS and OS did not differ between randomized treatments during the follow-up. For those patients surviving 2 years from randomization, however, BSX-first revascularization was associated with a reduced hazard ratio (HR) for subsequent AFS of 0.85 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.5-1.07; P = .108) and for subsequent OS of 0.61 (95% CI, 0.50-0.75; P = .009) in an adjusted, time-dependent Cox proportional hazards model. For those patients who survived for 2 years after randomization, initial randomization to a BSX-first revascularization strategy was associated with an increase in subsequent restricted mean overall survival of 7.3 months (95% CI, 1.2-13.4 months, P = .02) and an increase in restricted mean AFS of 5.9 months (95% CI, 0.2-12.0 months, P = .06) during the subsequent mean follow-up of 3.1 years (range, 1-5.7 years). CONCLUSIONS Overall, there was no significant difference in AFS or OS between the two strategies. However, for those patients who survived for at least 2 years after randomization, a BSX-first revascularization strategy was associated with a significant increase in subsequent OS and a trend towards improved AFS.

What are the symptoms of varicose veins? Edinburgh vein study cross sectional population survey.

Abstract Objective: To define the relations between age, sex, lower limb symptoms, and the presence of trunk varicose veins on clinical examination. Design: Cross sectional population study. Setting: 12 general practices with catchment areas geographically and socioeconomically distributed throughout Edinburgh. Participants: An age stratified random sample of 1566 people (699 men and 867 women) aged 18-64 selected from the computerised age-sex registers of participating practices. Main outcome measures: Self administered questionnaire on the presence of lower limb symptoms and physical examination to determine the presence and severity of varicose veins. Results: Women were significantly more likely than men to report lower limb symptoms such as heaviness or tension, swelling, aching, restless legs, cramps, and itching. The prevalence of symptoms tended to increase with age in both sexes. In men, only itching was significantly related to the presence and severity of trunk varices (linear test for trend, P=0.011). In women there was a significant relation between trunk varices and the symptoms of heaviness or tension (P 0.001), aching (P 0.001), and itching (P 0.005). However, the level of agreement between the presence of symptoms and trunk varices was too low to be of clinical value, especially in men. Conclusions: Even in the presence of trunk varices, most lower limb symptoms probably have a non-venous cause. Surgical extirpation of trunk varices is unlikely to ameliorate such symptoms in most patients.

Increasing incidence of aortic aneurysms in England and Wales.

The numbers of patients being admitted to hospital with aortic aneurysms have increased recently. A study was carried out to try to find out whether this was a true increase in incidence or whether it could be attributable to more accurate diagnosis and better surgical techniques. From analyses of routine statistics it was found that from 1950 to 1984 age standardised mortality rose 20-fold in men to 47.1 per 100,000 population and 11-fold in women to 22.2 per 100,000 and that this was mainly due to more deaths from abdominal aneurysms. Hospital admissions of men with abdominal aneurysms were found to have increased steadily from 1968 to 1983, but the increase for women admitted did not begin until 1978. An increase in both emergency and elective admissions and only a marginal fall in deaths in hospital (from 45% to 39%) suggest that admissions for abdominal aneurysms increased across a wide range of severity of disease. It is concluded for the following reasons that the true incidence of aortic aneurysms, particularly abdominal aneurysms, has been increasing in England and Wales: the trends are not wholly compatible with advances in diagnosis and surgery, there are inconsistencies by age and sex, and increases have occurred in the number of complicated as well as uncomplicated cases.

Bypass versus Angioplasty in Severe Ischaemia of the Leg (BASIL) trial: Analysis of amputation free and overall survival by treatment received

BACKGROUND An intention-to-treat analysis of randomized Bypass versus Angioplasty in Severe Ischaemia of the Leg (BASIL) trial data showed that initial randomization to a bypass surgery (BSX)-first strategy was associated with improvements in subsequent overall survival (OS) and amputation-free survival (AFS) of about 7 and 6 months, respectively. We describe the nature and timing of first, crossover, and reinterventions and examine AFS and OS by first treatment received. We also compare vein with prosthetic BSX and transluminal with subintimal balloon angioplasty (BAP) and examine outcomes from BSX after failed BAP. METHODS We randomly assigned 452 patients with SLI due to infrainguinal disease in 27 United Kingdom hospitals to a BSX first (n = 228) or a BAP first (n = 224) revascularization strategy. All patients have been monitored for 3 years and more than half for >5 years. We prospectively collected data on every procedure, major amputation, and death. RESULTS Patients randomized to BAP were more likely to have their assigned treatment first (94% vs 85%, P = .01, chi(2)test). BAP had a higher immediate technical failure rate of 20% vs 2.6% (P = .01, chi(2)test). By 12 weeks after randomization 9 BAP (4%) vs 23 BSX (10%) patients had not undergone revascularization; 3 BAP (1.3%) vs 13 BSX (5.8%) had undergone the opposite treatment first; and 35 BAP (15.6%) and 2 (0.9%) BSX had received the assigned treatment and then undergone the opposite treatment. BSX distal anastomoses were divided approximately equally between the above and below knee popliteal and crural arteries; most originated from the common femoral artery. About 25% of the grafts were prosthetic and >90% of vein BSX used ipsilateral great saphenous vein. Most (80%) BAP patients underwent treatment of the SFA alone (38%) or combined with the popliteal artery (42%) and crural arteries (20%). Outcome of vein BSX was better for AFS (P = 0.003) but not OS (P = 0.38, log-rank tests) than prosthetic BSX. There were no differences in outcome between approximately equal numbers of transluminal and subintimal BAP. AFS (P = 0.006) but not OS (P = 0.06, log rank test) survival was significantly worse after BSX after failed BAP than after BSX as a first revascularization attempt. CONCLUSIONS BAP was associated with a significantly higher early failure rate than BSX. Most BAP patients ultimately required surgery. BSX outcomes after failed BAP are significantly worse than for BSX performed as a first revascularization attempt. BSX with vein offers the best long term AFS and OS and, overall, BAP appears superior to prosthetic BSX.

Randomized trial comparing infrainguinal polytetrafluoroethylene bypass grafting with and without vein interposition cuff at the distal anastomosis

Abstract Purpose: A multicenter randomized prospective study was undertaken to determine whether an interposition vein cuff improved the short-term and medium-term patency and limb salvage rates of femoral–above-knee and femoral–below-knee popliteal artery polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) bypass procedures. Methods: Two hundred sixty-one bypass operations were randomized (133 to vein cuff and 128 to no vein cuff). One hundred fifty grafts were to the above-knee popliteal artery, 96 to the below-knee popliteal artery, and 15 to tibial vessels. The median follow-up was 617 days. Results: The 12-month patency rates for cuffed and uncuffed above-knee popliteal artery PTFE bypass grafts were 80% and 84%, and the 2-year patency rates were 72% and 70%, respectively. The patency rates for bypass grafts to the below-knee popliteal artery at 12 months were 80% and 65% and at 2 years 52% and 29%, respectively ( p = 0.03). At the below-knee site, this was reflected in 24-month difference in limb salvage rates of 84% and 62%, respectively ( p = 0.08). Conclusions: There was no improvement in the patency rate with the use of a distal anastomosis interposition vein cuff in femoral–above-knee popliteal PTFE bypass grafts, but there was a statistically significant advantage when PTFE bypass grafts were anastomosed to the popliteal artery below the knee. (J Vasc Surg 1997;26:543-50.)

Arterial disease in chronic leg ulceration: an underestimated hazard? Lothian and Forth Valley leg ulcer study.

Six hundred patients with chronic leg ulcers were interviewed and examined for evidence of arterial impairment. There were 827 ulcerated legs. Pedal pulses could not be felt in 94 (11%). A Doppler resting pressure index of 0.9 or less was found in 176 legs (21%). Risk factors for arterial impairment included age, ulceration affecting the foot, and a history of claudication, ischaemic heart disease, or cerebrovascular disease. Roughly half the patients with arterial impairment also showed the clinical features of chronic venous insufficiency. Careful assessment for arterial disease is mandatory before patients with chronic leg ulcers are treated with elastic compression.