Measurement of the ankle brachial index with a non-mercury sphygmomanometer in diabetic patients: a concordance study.

BACKGROUND: The removal of mercury sphygmomanometers from health centers requires the validation of other instruments to measure blood pressure in the limbs to calculate the ankle-brachial index (ABI). METHODS: Descriptive cross-sectional study of agreement between two measurement methods in type 2 diabetes patients from three urban primary healthcare centres in the Barcelonès Nord i Maresme area (Catalonia, Spain). RESULTS: 211 patients were included, from these, 421 limbs were available for study. The mean age of the participants was 67 years (SD = 10), 51.7% were women. CONCLUSION: The combination of a Doppler device with the hybrid sphygmomanometer is a simple and reliable method to measure ABI showing that hybrid sphygmomanometer is a good alternative to the use of mercury sphygmomanometers.

Ankle-brachial index and the incidence of cardiovascular events in the Mediterranean low cardiovascular risk population ARTPER cohort.

BACKGROUND: Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) of the lower limbs is a cardiovascular disease highly prevalent particularly in the asymptomatic form. Its prevalence starts to be a concern in low coronary risk countries like Spain. Few studies have analyzed the relationship between ankle-brachial index (ABI) and cardiovascular morbi-mortality in low cardiovascular risk countries like Spain where we observe significant low incidence of ischemic heart diseases together with high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors. The objective of this study is to determine the relationship between pathological ABI and incidence of cardiovascular events (coronary disease, cerebrovascular disease, symptomatic aneurism of abdominal aorta, vascular surgery) and death in the >49 year population-based cohort in Spain (ARTPER). METHODS: Baseline ABI was measured in 3,786 randomly selected patients from 28 Primary Health Centers in Barcelona, distributed as: ABI<0.9 peripheral arterial disease (PAD), ABI ≥1.4 arterial calcification (AC), ABI 0.9-1.4 healthy; and followed during 4 years. RESULTS: 3,307 subjects were included after excluding those with previous vascular events. Subjects with abnormal ABI were older with higher proportion of men, smokers and diabetics. 260 people presented cardiovascular events (incidence 2,117/100,000 person-years) and 124 died from any cause (incidence 978/100,000 person-years). PAD had two-fold greater risk of coronary disease (adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 2.0, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3-3.2) and increased risk of vascular surgery (HR = 5.6, 95%CI 2.8-11.5) and mortality (HR = 1.8, 95%CI 1.4-2.5). AC increased twice risk of cerebrovascular events (HR = 1.9, 95%CI 1.0-3.5) with no relationship with ischemic heart disease. CONCLUSIONS: PAD increases coronary disease risk and AC cerebrovascular disease risk in low cardiovascular risk Mediterranean population. ABI could be a useful tool to detect patients at risk in Primary Health Care.

A program of nurse algorithm-guided care for adult patients with acute minor illnesses in primary care.

BACKGROUND: Attention to patients with acute minor-illnesses requesting same-day consultation represents a major burden in primary care. The workload is assumed by general practitioners in many countries. A number of reports suggest that care to these patients may be provided, at in least in part, by nurses. However, there is scarce information with respect to the applicability of a program of nurse management for adult patients with acute minor-illnesses in large areas. The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of a program of nurse algorithm-guided care for adult patients with acute minor illnesses requesting same-day consultation in primary care in a largely populated area. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of all adult patients seeking same day consultation for 16 common acute minor illnesses in a large geographical area with 284 primary care practices. Patients were included in a program of nurse case management using management algorithms. The main outcome measure was case resolution, defined as completion of the algorithm by the nurse without need of referral of the patient to the general practitioner. The secondary outcome measure was return to consultation, defined as requirement of new consultation for the same reason as the first one, in primary care within a 7-day period. RESULTS: During a two year period (April 2009-April 2011), a total of 1,209,669 consultations were performed in the program. Case resolution was achieved by nurses in 62.5% of consultations. The remaining cases were referred to a general practitioner. Resolution rates ranged from 94.2% in patients with burns to 42% in patients with upper respiratory symptoms. None of the 16 minor illnesses had a resolution rate below 40%. Return to consultation during a 7-day period was low, only 4.6%. CONCLUSIONS: A program of algorithms-guided care is effective for nurse case management of patients requesting same day consultation for minor illnesses in primary care.

Incidence and risk factors of exacerbations among COPD patients in primary health care: APMPOC study.

BACKGROUND: Worldwide, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fourth cause of death. Exacerbations have a negative impact on the prognosis of COPD and the frequency and severity of these episodes are associated with a higher patient mortality. Exacerbations are the first cause of decompensation, hospital admission and death in COPD. The incidence of exacerbations has mainly been estimated in populations of patients with moderate-severe COPD requiring hospital care. However, little is known regarding the epidemiology of exacerbations in patients with less severe COPD forms. It is therefore possible that a high number of these less severe forms of exacerbations are underdiagnosed and may, in the long-term, have certain prognostic importance for the COPD evolution. The aim of this study was to know the incidence and risk factors associated with exacerbations in patients with COPD in primary care. METHODS AND DESIGN: A prospective, observational, 3-phase, multicentre study will be performed involving: baseline evaluation, follow up and final evaluation. A total of 685 smokers or ex-smokers from 40 to 80 years of age with COPD, without acute respiratory disease or any other long-term respiratory disease will be randomly selected among the population assigned to 21 primary care centres. The diagnosis of COPD and its severity will be confirmed by spirometry. Information regarding the baseline situation, quality of life and exposure to contaminants or other factors potentially related to exacerbations will be collected. A group of 354 patients with confirmed COPD of varying severity will be followed for one year through monthly telephone calls and daily reporting of symptoms with the aim of detecting all the exacerbations which occur. These patients will be evaluated again at the end of the study and the incidence of exacerbations and associated relative risks will be estimated by negative binomial regression. DISCUSSION: The results will be relevant to provide knowledge about natural history of the initial phases of the COPD and the impact and incidence of the exacerbations on the patients with mild-moderate forms of the disease. These data may be important to know the milder forms of exacerbation which are often silent or very little expressed clinically.

[Concordance between 3 methods of measurement the ankle-brachial index to diagnose peripheral artery disease]. / Concordancia entre 3 métodos de medición del índice tobillo-brazo para el diagnóstico de arteriopatía periférica.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To determine the concordance of the ankle-brachial index (ABI) determined by automatic measurements (sphygmomanometer Omron and the triple cuff device) using doppler as the gold-standard, computing as well as sensitivity and specificity. PATIENTS AND METHODS: ARTPER population cohort subjects, classified as peripheral arterial disease (PAD) if ABI<0.9, calcified if ABI≥1.4 and healthy otherwise. To asses concordance we used kappa index using the 3 categories and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for ABI continuous values. RESULTS: Eighty-eight participants, 52% women, 57-87 years. It was possible to calculate the ABI using doppler for 100%, 97% using Omron and 95% using triple. ABI means (standard deviation) were: doppler 1.089 (0.236), Omron 1.082 (0.110), triple 1.146 (0.134), with poor agreement (ICC doppler/Omron=0.27, doppler/triple=0.13, and triple/Omron=0.39). Categorizing ABI as PAD-healthy-calcified 13.6% (doppler), 6.8% (Omron) and 3.4% (triple) were PAD and 9.1% (doppler), 1.1% (Omron) and 9.1% (triple) were calcified. Kappa indexes were weak (doppler/Omron=0.22, doppler/triple=0.01, triple/Omron=0.17). Both triple and Omron were highly specific (97%) but had very low sensitivity (8 and 33%, respectively) compared to doppler. CONCLUSIONS: Concordance of ABI automatic measurements as Omron and triple with doppler was poor, and they do not seem suitable for screening for PAD in primary care consultations.

[Correlation between toe-brachial index and ankle-brachial index in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2]. / Correlación entre los índices dedo-brazo y tobillo-brazo en pacientes con diabetes mellitus tipo 2.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: We aimed to know the prevalence of abnormal toe-brachial index (TBI) in a group of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2). We also aimed to know the correlation between TBI and the ankle-brachial index (ABI) in these patients and determine the abnormal value of TBI. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in primary care. DM2 patients over 50 years were included. Systolic blood pressure at the arm, ankle and toe were determined to calculate the ABI and the TBI. RESULTS: We studied 175 patients (350 limbs) of a mean age of 67 years (SD=9), 53.7% were women and 72.3% had hypertension. The ABI was abnormal (≤ 0.90) in 8.3% of the limbs and 8.6% met criteria of calcification (≥ 1.40). The TBI was abnormal (≤ 0.60) in 18.6% of cases. Of the 291 limbs with a normal ABI, 34 (11.7%) had an abnormal value of TBI and the 30 limbs with a calcified ABI, 6 (20%) had an abnormal value of TBI. There was a positive linear correlation between ABI and TBI (r = 0.395, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Determination of TBI provides additional information to ABI determination and exploration can be very useful in cases of arterial calcification. The value ≤ 0.60 is the best one to consider an abnormal TBI.