Background: A major lower limb amputation (LLA) for dysvascular disease carries the risk of disturbed wound healing necessitating reamputation at a higher level. A reamputation causes a delay in prosthetic fitting and recovery of walking ability. The combination of a prolonged open wound and inability to walk can worsen the physical and psychological situation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Prevalence of peripheral arterial disease is equal in men and women. However, women seem to suffer more from the burden of disease. Current studies on gender-related outcomes following supervised exercise therapy (SET) for intermittent claudication (IC) yield conflicting results.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Thorac Cardiovasc Surg
November 2014
Background: Despite medical treatment, one third of patients with uncomplicated type B aortic dissections experience severe late complications. The aim of this study was to identify patients at high risk of mortality during follow-up.
Methods: A total of 183 patients with acute Stanford type B dissection were treated in one of the university hospitals (Aachen [Germany], Maastricht [The Netherlands], and Innsbruck [Austria]) between 1997 and 2010.
Patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) are prone to vascular infection with chronic Q-fever. There is a rising incidence of up to 8% of chronic Q-fever in The Netherlands. Increased vascular aortic aneurysm infection with chronic Q-fever is reported.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Although supervised exercise therapy is considered to be of significant benefit for people with leg pain (peripheral arterial disease (PAD)), implementing supervised exercise programs (SETs) in daily practice has limitations. This is an update of a review first published in 2006.
Objectives: The main objective of this review was to provide an accurate overview of studies evaluating the effects of supervised versus non-supervised exercise therapy on maximal walking time or distance on a treadmill for people with intermittent claudication.
Background: People with intermittent claudication (IC) suffer from pain in the muscles of the leg occurring during exercise which is relieved by a short period of rest. Symptomatic relief can be achieved by (supervised) exercise therapy and pharmacological treatments. Ginkgo biloba is a vasoactive agent and is used to treat IC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Screening with ankle-brachial index (ABI) measurement could be clinically relevant to avoid cardiovascular events in subjects with asymptomatic atherosclerosis. To assess the practical impact of guidelines regarding the use of ABI as a screening tool in general practice, the corresponding number needed to screen, including the required time investment, and the feasibility of ABI performance, was assessed.
Methods: An observational study was performed in the setting of 955 general practices in the Netherlands.
We report a patient, which we believe is the first, with a thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm, Crawford type IV, caused by Q fever (Coxiella burnetii). Treatment consisted of antibiotic therapy started preoperatively and continued postoperatively and an open repair, including resection of the infected aneurysm, replacement with a rifampin-soaked polyester graft, and an omental wrap covering the grafts. After 13 months of follow-up, the patient had no signs of infection, and results of laboratory findings were normal.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: People with intermittent claudication suffer from pain in the muscles of the leg occurring during exercise which is relieved by a short period of rest. Symptomatic relief can be achieved by (supervised) exercise therapy and pharmacological treatments. Ginkgo biloba is a vasoactive agent and is used to treat intermittent claudication.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: This cohort study was conducted to determine the effect on walking distances of supervised exercise therapy provided in a community-based setting.
Methods: The study included all consecutive patients presenting at the vascular outpatient clinic with intermittent claudication, diagnosed by a resting ankle brachial index<0.9, who had no previous peripheral vascular intervention for peripheral arterial disease, no major amputation, and sufficient command of the Dutch language.
Measurement of the ankle-brachial index (ABI) can provide important information about the presence of subclinical atherosclerosis. Performing the ABI in the overall population is not feasible, but it can be used in a selected population. A simple prediction rule could be of much use to estimate the risk of an abnormal ABI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: If a validated questionnaire, when applied to patients reporting with symptoms of intermittent claudication, could adequately discriminate between those with and without peripheral arterial disease, GPs could avoid the diagnostic measurement of the ankle brachial index.
Aim: To investigate the Edinburgh Claudication Questionnaire (ECQ) in general practice and to develop a clinical decision rule based on risk factors to enable GPs to easily assess the likelihood of peripheral arterial disease.
Design Of Study: An observational study.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of endovascular repair of anastomotic and true aortic and iliac aneurysms occurring after prior polyester graft repair for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) or aortoiliac obstructive disease. Between July 1999 and January 2003, 14 patients underwent endovascular treatment of aortic pseudoaneurysms (n = 6) or iliac aneurysms (2 patients with pseudoaneurysms and 6 patients with true aneurysms) occurring 4 to 18.4 years (mean, 8.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To report emergent endovascular repair of a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in a patient with a horseshoe kidney.
Case Report: A 78-year-old man with a horseshoe kidney presented with a contained rupture of a 72-mm AAA. After urgent computed tomographic angiography (CTA) documented the blood supply to the kidney and the suitability of the aneurysm for endovascular repair, the patient was given a local anesthetic.