PubMed HealthSearch

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Intermittent Claudication”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Pharmacological approaches to the treatment of intermittent claudication.

Intermittent claudication is a common condition of the elderly, occurring in 3 to 20% of individuals over the age of 65 years. Although local disease is usually benign, life expectancy in patients with intermittent claudication is reduced by approximately 10 years due to associated cardiovascular mortality. Several classes of drugs have been used in intermittent claudication, but clinical studies evaluating their efficacy leave much to be desired. Pentoxifylline (oxpentifylline), a rheological agent, and naftidrofuryl, an enhancer of aerobic metabolism, are the 2 most widely investigated and utilised drugs. The combined results of 10 placebo-controlled studies with pentoxifylline and 4 with naftidrofuryl estimate increases in claudication distances of 51 and 42%, respectively. However, due to publication bias, these figures are probably overestimates of the true benefit from treatment with these drugs. It is likely that any benefit from pentoxifylline or naftidrofuryl is small and of little clinical importance. The suggestion that naftidrofuryl has greater efficacy in older patients remains unproven. Other classes of drugs including vasodilators, antiplatelet drugs, anticoagulants and prostaglandins have not been shown to be effective. Only 2 approaches to the management of intermittent claudication have been shown convincingly to be of benefit: stopping smoking and exercising regularly.

Aged

Peripheral arterial occlusive disease: conservative treatment of intermittent claudication.

Intermittent claudication is the principal symptom in stage II of peripheral arterial occlusive disease. As this is a multilocular manifestation of atherosclerosis, a distinction must be drawn between treatment of the underlying disease with consideration of the individual risk factors and improvement and abolition of the intermittent claudication. Various therapeutic principles exist, and drug therapy is the subject of controversial discussion. On the basis of eight controlled, randomized studies, it was demonstrated that in comparison with placebo a statistically significant increase in the pain-free walking distance can be achieved by oral drug administration within 3-6 months. This drug therapy should be considered for those patients with intermittent claudication who cannot undergo revascularization, angioplasty, or walking training.

Aged

[Intermittent claudication].

Intermittent claudication is a symptom triggered from the musculature during walking. The pathogenesis of the pain is unknown. All patients with peripheral vascular disease must abstain from smoking, perform physical exercise and dietary advice is sometime needed. Reconstructive vascular surgery or percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) are indicated when the occupational pattern and, in some instances, the recreational activities, are threatened. The results of these treatments are good. For various reasons a number of patients, however, cannot be offered these treatments. These patients must be informed of the importance of physical exercise and discontinuation of smoking. Some of these patients can be offered supplementary medical treatment (e.g. pentoxifylline).

Diagnosis, Differential

Drug therapy in intermittent claudication: an objective assessment of the effects of three drugs on patients with intermittent claudication.

It has been suggested that, by reducing the viscosity of blood, flow through capillaries is increased with consequent improvement in the symptoms of patients with peripheral vascular disease. We examined the effects of treatment with drugs purported to reduce blood viscosity to test the validity of this claim. Measurements of viscosity and the rate of blood flow to the leg were made in a group of patients before and after treatment with three different drugs--tetranicotinoylfructose (Bradilan), oxypentifylline (Trental) and cinnarizine (Stugeron). All patients had intermittent claudication in one leg and the distribution of arteriosclerosis was similar in each patient. After treatment there was little or no change in blood viscosity and no change in the rate of flow recorded in the symptomatic legs. We did not find any objective evidence to support the use of these drugs in patients with intermittent claudication.

Aged

[The concept of neurogenic intermittent claudication. A rare form of intermittent limping in neurologic system disease].

Two cases of neural muscular atrophy of the Charcot-Marie-Tooth-Hoffmann type with strain-dependent pain in the leg similar to intermittent claudication are reported. While the pathogenesis of a neurogenic intermittent claudication appears to be reasonably explained by a pathological narrowness of the lumbar spinal duct, this question must remain open in the cases of neurospinal systemic disease described.

Arterial Occlusive Diseases

Intermittent claudication.

The natural history of intermittent claudication is generally benign. Clear indications for revascularization in patients with intermittent claudication are rest pain and necrotic tissue. Disabling claudication in patients who are at low operative risk is another acceptable indication for surgical treatment. Young patients with intermittent claudication from aortoiliac occlusion constitute a subset of patients in whom a more aggressive approach is justified. Nevertheless, in most patients, the management of intermittent claudication should be conservative.

Female

Intermittent claudication--pathophysiological considerations.

Intermittent claudication is a non-pathognomic symptom elicited by an inbalance between the metabolic demands of the exercising skeletal muscle and its blood supply. In normal conditions hyperemia to the working muscles will be impaired during the exercise by mechanical compression of the microvessels. The resulting anaerobic metabolism will cause further vasodilatation. Both phenomena (exercise and reactive hyperemia) contribute to a maximal increase in local blood flow as soon as the exercise is stopped. If the local circulation is impaired by occluding arterial disease (eventually complicated by aggravating factors) the tolerance to skeletal work is lowered and the circulatory reserves are entirely exhausted as demonstrated by the ischemic exercise-test. In the case of a major obstruction and poor collateralisation, a "steel phenomenon" may occur. The pharmacotherapeutic possibilities to cope with in this situation are briefly discussed.

Adenosine Triphosphate

The management of intermittent claudication.

Many patients with intermittent claudication improve due to development of collateral vessels. Only a small proportion worsen, and few progress to severe ischaemia with the risk of amputation. Accordingly, most patients can be reassured and treated expectantly. Those patients have a reduced life expectancy compared with the population at large. Thus, surgical treatment should be reserved for patients who are severely restricted by claudication. The early technical results of arterial reconstruction for claudication are excellent. However, the late results are much worse in patients who continue to smoke. Nowadays, the complication rate from surgery is low.

Adult

[Intermittent claudication].

The symptom of intermittent claudication indicates a generalised arteriosclerosis. The high mortality of these patients is due to myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular events and rupture of aortic aneurysms. Prognostic factors for the progression of peripheral occlusive arterial disease to rest pain and trophical lesions are persistent nicotine consumption, arterial occlusions on more than one extremity, brachiopedal pressure quotient less than 0.5 and diabetes mellitus. Therapy of choice in most cases is the walking exercise. When the claudication distance remains very short or decompensation of peripheral circulation is imminent, reopening procedures like percutaneous transluminal angioplasty should be performed. If they are successless a prostanoid therapy is able to relief the complaints.

Combined Modality Therapy

Leg showering therapy in patients with intermittent claudication.

Ten patients with intermittent claudication were treated using a recently constructed "chair" in which the seated patient has alternately warm and cool water flushed over the legs and feet. A trial treatment was given for 25 minutes, three times a week for 5 weeks. Ankle/arm index, skin perfusion pressure and calf blood flow all remained unchanged immediately after such a series of treatment. Even at follow-up 6 months later, values were unchanged but for a minute increase in ankle/arm index in the poorer leg. Walking capacity was additionally measured and an improvement was seen, also after 6 months. The role of the contrast temperature treatment in this improvement is, however, unclear.

Aged

The ischemic window: a method for the objective quantitation of the training effect in exercise therapy for intermittent claudication.

Twenty-two patients with intermittent claudication were prospectively enrolled in a 12-week program of supervised, graded treadmill exercise therapy. Severity and distribution of arterial occlusive disease were ascertained by noninvasive determination of segmental lower extremity blood pressures and waveforms. No attempt was made to modify risk factors for atherosclerotic occlusive disease. The exercise-induced reduction of the ankle pressure and its recovery were recorded over time, and the area under this curve, the "ischemic window," represents the severity of the ischemic deficit. Absolute systolic ankle pressure, ankle-brachial index, maximum walking time, claudication pain time, and the ischemic window were measured before and after exercise training in all subjects. Maximum walking time and claudication pain time increased 659% and 846%, respectively, among the 19 patients completing the 12-week program (p = 0.001; p = 0.0002). These patients underwent a mean reduction of 58.7% in the ischemic window after a standardized workload (p less than 0.05), and this correlated with the degree of symptomatic improvement. Absolute ankle pressure and ankle-brachial index were unchanged after exercise training. This study confirms the utility of supervised exercise therapy in the treatment of intermittent claudication. The ischemic window is a useful method for quantifying the ischemic deficit produced by exercise and provides a reproducible means of documenting functional improvement in patients undergoing exercise training.

Aged

[Regulation of blood circulation in the extremities in intermittent claudication].

UNLABELLED: The study was aimed to investigate the characteristics of the limb circulation in patients suffering from intermittent claudication. The study group consisted of 71 patients with intermittent claudication. As control served the data of 60 patients with intact peripheral circulation and 24 patients suffering from rest pain, too. The limb blood flow was measured by the venous isotope dye-dilution method. RESULTS: 1. The limb blood flow will be diminished in intermittent claudication already in resting state. The decrease of the limb blood flow is more expressed in severe claudication (with short claudication distance). 2. The pathological condition of the limb circulation in intermittent claudication can be characterized by the elevation of the limb vascular resistance. 3. The O2 consumption of the limb tissues will decrease in intermittent claudication. The data of the study are indicating that the regulation of the limb circulation will pathologically be changed in claudication. The reserves of the peripheral circulation are diminished and the insufficiency of the limb circulation will be manifested on walking.

Adult

The fate of patients with intermittent claudication managed nonoperatively.

Of 100 patients with intermittent claudication, followed an average of six years, a surprising 78 per cent either showed improvement or remained stable regarding the presenting complaint. However, 39 per cent showed evidence of further progression of atherosclerosis. In patients with femoropopliteal occlusion in one leg, almost 40 per cent had occlusion in the one leg, almost 40 per cent had occlusion in the other leg after two to six years. The amputation rate was 7 per cent but six of these seven patients had severe diabetes. This study suggests that we are not causing limb loss by adhering to stringent criteria for bypass grafting. It also suggests that the patient with intermittent claudication without associated grave signs has a better than 50 per cent chance of improving and a better than 60 per cent chance that his disease will not show evidence of significant progression during a five to six year period. Such data should be taken into consideration when patients are considered for arterial reconstruction.

Adult

[Intermittent claudication. Synthesis and conclusions].

The intermittent claudication is a symptom. By itself, it does not justify surgical treatment. On the other hand, it is advisable when accompanied by a threat of trophic disorders. Direct arterial surgery is often necessary in the case of suprainguinal, aorto-iliac lesion, rarely in the leg. Indeed, under the inguinal area, nature tends to compensate for occlusions of the trunk by the formation of a parallel network. A logical treatment is to contribute to this tendency, by increasing the upward and downward pressure gradient through muscular exercise and lumbar sympathectomy. In practice, the choice between hyperemia surgery and reconstructive surgery rests on functional data, that make it possible to evaluate the potential of the parallel network and of the peripheral vascular bed.

Humans

[Personality traits (type A) in patients with intermittent claudication. 1. Results of the Bortner test].

It has never been considered whether type A (coronary prone) behavior can also be found in patients with peripheral atherosclerotic disease (intermittent claudication). This question has been studied by means of the 14-item (Bortner) questionnaire. The questionnaire was filled out by 10 patients (self-assessment) with coronary artery disease and intermittend claudication, 13 with intermittent claudication alone and 10 with comparably severe, but not arteriovascular disease and independently by their wives (relative's assessment). In the self-assessment the test discriminated significantly between the three groups (Kruskal-Wallis p less than 0.05). The correlation coefficient (Spearman) between expression of type A behavior and extent of atherosclerosis was 0.3720 (p less than 0.02). In the relative's assessment the groups were also differentiated significantly (Kruskal-Wallis p less than 0.05). The correlation coefficient (Spearman) was 0.4080 (p less than 0.009). The results indicate that patients with intermittent claudication demonstrate a predilection for type A behavior, which is more pronounced in those with additional coronary artery disease. The multiple stepwise regression indicated that type A behavior is related to atherosclerosis independently of other factors.

Coronary Disease

Co-variation between walking ability and circulatory alterations in patients with intermittent claudication.

Unselected patients (n = 183) with subjective symptoms of intermittent claudication were examined clinically and by various circulatory tests (calf blood-flow, ankle, toe pressures). The aims of the present study were to evaluate to what extent the central or peripheral circulation is limiting in unselected patients with subjective symptoms of intermittent claudication, to determine the co-variation between the maximum walking capacity and traditional haemodynamical measures mentioned above and to evaluate to what extent a traditional bicycle ergometer exercise test and treadmill walking test give similar information regarding maximum performance. Eighty-five per cent of all patients were or had been smokers and 16% were diabetics. The mean ankle/brachial blood pressure index was 0.58 +/- 0.02 and the average post-ischemic maximum calf bloodflow was 13.3 +/- 0.6 ml/min/100 ml tissue. Leg arterial insufficiency was the limiting factor of walking capacity in 90% of all patients at 87 +/- 2 W corresponding to a walking distance of 282 +/- 13 m, while leg exhaustion was the limiting factor in 80% of the patients during test on the bicycle ergometer at maximum 84 +/- 2W. The mean maximum walking capacity for all patients was 86 +/- 3W and the mean maximum capacity on the bicycle ergometer was 87 +/- 2W. The ankle/brachial index showed only a weak correlation (r = 0.30, p < 0.002) to walking capacity. Our results demonstrate that the maximum walking capacity on a treadmill agrees with mean values of maximum exercise capacity on a bicycle ergometer.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aged

Neurogenic intermittent claudication in association with spondylolisthesis.

In the last three decades, more attention has been put upon neurogenic intermittent claudication, also called pseudoclaudication. The syndrome usually develops in patients with congenital narrow spinal canal and secondary additional narrowing. Two cases of spondylolisthesis with neurogenic intermittent claudication are presented. The pathogenesis, symptoms and findings of neurogenic intermittent claudication are discussed.

Female

Phenol sympathectomy in the treatment of intermittent claudication: a controlled clinical trail.

Twenty-five patients with intermittent claudication were randomly allocated to treatment either by injection of phenol into the lumbar sympathetic chain or by injection of local anaesthetic subcutaneously. On the day after the injection, sympathectomy, assessed by skin temperature change, was achieved in 85 per cent of the phenol group. At 1 month subjective improvement was claimed by 45 per cent of the patients in the sympathectomized group and by 64 per cent in the control group; at 3 months the figures were 25 and 45 per cent respectively. Treadmill testing at two exercise loads showed no significant difference in claudication distance or stopping time between the two groups. Calf blood pressure response following exercise was not affected by sympathectomy. There is no subjective or objective evidence that phenol sympathectomy improves intermittent claudication.

Blood Pressure