Abstract
To investigate the frequency and seventy of peripheral vascular disease in hemodialysis patients, we determined transcutaneous oxygen tension (TCPO2) as a marker of foot ischemia at rest in the supine position in 65 hemodialysis patients (group HD) and 35 sex and age-matched healthy controls (group C). The factors influencing TCPO2 were also analyzed.
1) TCPO2 in group HD was significantly lower than in group C (p<0.0001). TCPO2 was less than 50mmHg in only 2 group C subjects (6%) but in 30 HD subjects (46%). 2) In both groups, a significant negative correlation was observed between TCPO2 and age. In group HD, TCPO2 in diabetics was significantly lower than in non-diabetic subjects (p<0.01). 3) In diabetic HD subjects, a significant correlation between TCPO2 and the R-R interval variation, hemoglobin and arterial O2 content suggested that the development of peripheral arteriovenous shunting and reduced oxygen supply could be risk factors for TCPO2 reduction. 4) TCPO2 in HD subjects with intermittent claudication, rest pain, and/or skin ulcers was significantly lower than in subjects without these symptoms. But TCPO2 did not correlate with the ankle/brachial pressure index or arterial calcification.
These results indicate that measurement of TCPO2 is a simple, noninvasive, and quantitative technique for assessing peripheral vascular disease in hemodialysis patients.
