Peripheral occlusive arterial disease in diabetic clinic attendees

Peripheral occlusive arterial disease occurs with a greater frequency in th e diabetic population than in the general population. It can have debilitat ing effects and so early detection and intervention are important. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of peripheral occlusive art erial disease (POAD) among a sample of diabetic patients attending the out- patient clinic at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), Mona. A sphygmomanometer was used to measure arm and ankle blood pressures in 80 diabetic patients, and the ankle-brachial systolic pressure index (ABI) was determined. The presence or absence of peripheral pulses was detected with the Multi-dopplex (model I). POAD was defined by the absence of one or mor e peripheral pulses and/or an ABI < 0.9. Of the 80 diabetic patients examin ed, 18 (22.5%) were found to have POAD. Seventy-eight per cent of diabetics with POAD had the disease in both legs. Intermittent claudication was diag nosed in 27.7% of patients with POAD. A significantly larger proportion of diabetics with POAD were hypertensive and/or neuropathic (p < 0.05). The re sults suggest that serious attention should be given to the quantitative sc reening for POAD in the diabetic patients attending the clinic at the UHWI.