An Extension of the Bollinger Scoring System to Analyse the Distribution of Macrovascular Disease of the Lower Limb in Diabetes.

Objective: While it is generally considered that patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) have more distal peripheral arterial disease (PAD), there is little information on how individual vessels are affected. The aim of this study was to adapt Bollinger's scoring system for lower limb angiograms (DSAs) to include the distal and planter vessels. The reliability of this extension was tested and was used to compare the distribution of disease in two cohorts of patients with and without DM.

A Review of Distribution of Atherosclerosis in the Lower Limb Arteries of Patients With Diabetes Mellitus and Peripheral Vascular Disease.

Objective: There is a generally accepted hypothesis that patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) have a higher burden of atherosclerotic disease below the knee compared to patients without DM (NDM). The aim of this review was to summarize the evidence regarding this hypothesis.

Methods: The literature was searched for papers that compared the anatomical distribution of atherosclerotic disease in patients with DM and those without using radiological imaging.

Safety and Outcomes of Ipsilateral Antegrade Angioplasty for Femoropopliteal Disease.

Purpose: Previous reports have suggested higher periprocedural complications after ipsilateral antegrade femoral arterial access (AA). We looked at a contemporary series comparing complication rates between AA and contralateral retrograde femoral arterial access (RA) for femoropopliteal angioplasty.

Method: A prospective review of all cases between 2010 and 2015 in a United Kingdom tertiary vascular center.

Prescribing antibiotics in diabetic foot infection: what is the role of initial microscopy and culture of tissue samples?

The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of microscopy, Gram stain and the culture of tissue samples in the antibiotic treatment of patients with diabetic foot infection. A retrospective review of patients with a diabetic foot infection was undertaken. Data analysed included the severity of infection, antibiotic prescribing patterns, microscopy and culture results.

Effect of treated length in endovenous laser ablation of great saphenous vein on early outcomes.

Objective: The aim of this preliminary study was to document the effect of treated great saphenous vein (GSV) length on short-term outcomes using freedom from secondary intervention as a marker.

Methods: Analysis was performed of a prospective database of endovascular laser therapy (EVLT) procedures performed by a single surgeon in an NHS hospital setting using a standardized technique in a series of consecutive ambulatory patients. During a 2-year period, 131 episodes with sufficient data were recorded.

The Difference Between the Healing and the Nonhealing Diabetic Foot Ulcer: A Review of the Role of the Microcirculation.

Background: Diabetic foot disease carries a high morbidity and is a leading cause of lower limb amputation. This may in part be due to the effect diabetes mellitus (DM) has on the microcirculation including in the skin.

Method: We conducted a review of studies that have examined the relationship between microcirculatory function and wound healing in patients with DM.

Duplex ultrasound surveillance after carotid artery endarterectomy.

Objective: After carotid endarterectomy (CEA), patients have been regularly followed up by duplex ultrasound imaging. However, the evidence for long-term follow-up is not clear, especially if the results from an early duplex scan are normal. This study assessed and systematically reviewed the evidence base for long-term surveillance after CEA and a normal early scan.

Common femoral vein canal lipoma causing chronic unilateral lower limb swelling.

A 64-year-old woman presented to vascular clinic with a 2-year history of right ankle swelling, associated with pain on walking. Initial venous duplex imaging showed no obvious cause. Further imaging showed a lipoma compressing the common femoral vein.