Ultrasound detection of non-atherosclerotic intima-medial abnormalities of lower limbs arteries in amateur endurance runners.

BACKGROUND: Structural changes in the lower limb's arterial wall in amateur endurance runners are a rare incidental finding, represented just by several case reports. AIM: Study the incidence of non-atherosclerotic lower limb artery wall changes in defined group of amateur endurance runners and identify relationship with the training parameters and the relevant biochemical markers. METHODS: Amateur male athletes engaged in endurance running for more than 5 years were enrolled. Tibial and anterior popliteal arteries on each side were examined by ultrasound with focus on non-atherosclerotic structural wall changes: intima-medial border blurring, presence and character of non-atherosclerotic noduli. Subsequently the descriptive and correlation analysis were performed. RESULTS: The study enrolled 20 amateur male endurance runners from Black Swan Triathlon Club Slovakia. The low atherosclerotic risk was represented by normal lipid levels, BMI under 30 kg/m2 and non-smokers in all participants. At least one type of structural artery wall abnormality (noduli or intima-medial border blurring) was present in 19 of 20 participants (95%). The most present was the intima-medial blurring. (80% of participants). The noduli were present in 65% of study group, in almost 40% of these, they were considered as hyperechogenic. All these affections were predominantly in popliteal artery area (65%). The vast majority has bilateral affection. We find a mild correlation between these ultrasound findings and training load represented by annual kilometers and run hours. There was no association between these changes and lipid spectrum or CRP level. CONCLUSION: The subclinical lower limb artery changes, represented by intima-medial border blurring and non-atherosclerotic noduli were present in almost every amateur endurance runner. Despite the underlying mechanism is not understood, the increased training load seems to be one of the responsible factors.

Effect of cranial tibial artery laceration on radiographic bone healing and perioperative complications in dogs undergoing tibial plateau leveling osteotomy.

During tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO), the laceration of the cranial tibial artery (LCTA) may occur, and the ligation of the cranial tibial artery might lead to impaired blood supply to the osteotomy site. The present case-control study aimed to evaluate the effect of LCTA on TPLO healing and the occurrence of perioperative complications. The incidence and predisposing factors to LCTA were also investigated. Fourteen cases experiencing LCTA were retrospectively enrolled from medical records of two veterinary teaching hospitals (LCTA group), whereas 28 randomly selected TPLOs that did not experience LCTA were included in the control group. Signalment data, proximal tibial epiphysis conformation, osteotomy features, perioperative complications, and bone healing were compared between the two groups. Bone healing was evaluated using the modified radiographic union scale for tibial fracture and the visual analog scale. The mean incidence was 9.6%. Bodyweight was significantly higher in the LCTA group compared to the control group (P = 0.009). Dogs belonging to the LCTA groups were significantly younger (P = 0.01). Intraoperative hypotension was significantly overreported in the LCTA group (P = 0.0001). None of the other variables differed significantly between the two groups. Dogs' size seems to be a predisposing factor, with dogs weighing >15 kg having 22 times more chance of experiencing LCTA. Due to the well-developed collateral blood supply of the canine hindlimb, LCTA and the closure of the cranial tibial artery did not appear to delay the radiographic bone healing or affect the incidence of perioperative complications.

Haemodynamic effect of a leg compression bandage on the distal posterior tibial artery using 4D flow magnetic resonance imaging: A quantitative study.

The uncertainty concerning the physiological effects of compression bandaging on the peripheral blood flow is a challenge for healthcare professionals. The main objective was to determine the haemodynamic impact on the distal posterior tibial artery after the application of a high-compression leg multicomponent bandaging system using 4D flow magnetic resonance imaging. Leg dominance disparities of the posterior tibial artery before and after the application of the compressive bandage were also analysed. Twenty-eight healthy female volunteers were recruited (mean: 25.71, standard deviation: 4.74 years old) through a non-probability convenience sampling. The 4D flow magnetic resonance imaging of the distal tibial posterior artery was performed in all participants, first under standard resting conditions and after the application of a compression bandage in the leg. When the strong compressive bandage was applied, the area of the assessed artery decreased by 14.2%, whilst the average speed increased by 19.6% and the flow rate increased by 184.8%. There were differences between the haemodynamic parameters of both legs according to dominance, being statistically significantly lower in the dominant leg. The application of strong compressive bandaging significantly increases the arterial flow and mean velocity in the distal segment of the posterior tibial artery, in healthy volunteers by 4D flow magnetic resonance imaging. In this study, leg dominance influenced some of the haemodynamic parameters. According to the results, leg compression bandages cannot be contraindicated in vascular ulcers with arterial compromise.

Influence of a Novel Morphology-Driven Classification on Limb Salvage after Isolated Tibial Intervention for Chronic Limb Threatening Ischemia.

BACKGROUND: Infra-popliteal interventions for chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) can be impacted by the morphology of the tibial vessels. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of a novel morphology-driven classification on the outcomes of isolated tibial intervention for CLTI. METHODS: A database of patients undergoing isolated tibial interventions for CLTI at a single center between 2010 and 2020 was retrospectively queried. Patients with isolated infra-popliteal disease were identified, and their anatomy was scored as present or absent for lesion calcification (1 point), target vessel diameter<3.0 mm (1 point), lesion length>300 mm (1 point), and poor pedal runoff score (1 point). Patients were then divided into 3 groups: low risk (0 or 1 points), moderate risk (2 points), and high risk (3 or 4 points). Intention to treat analysis by the patient was performed. Limb-based patency (the absence of reintervention, occlusion, critical stenosis [>70%], or hemodynamic compromise with ongoing symptoms of CLTI as it related to the patency of the preoperatively determined target artery pathway) was assessed. Patient-oriented outcomes of amputation-free survival (AFS; survival without major amputation) and freedom from major adverse limb events (MALE; above ankle amputation of the index limb or major reintervention: new bypass graft, jump/interposition graft revision) were evaluated. RESULTS: 1,607 patients (55% male, average age 60 years, 3,846 vessels) underwent tibial intervention for CLTI. The majority of the patients were diabetic and of Hispanic origin. Morphologically, 27%, 31%, and 42% of the vessels were categorized as low risk, moderate risk, and high risk, respectively. There was a significant worsening of the infra-popliteal Global Limb Anatomic Staging System (GLASS) grading as the morphological risk increased. The 30-day major adverse cardiac events (MACE) were equivalent across the groups and were under the stated objective performance goal (OPG) of ≤10%. In contrast, both the 30-day MALE and the 30-day major amputations were significantly different across the groups, with the low-risk group remaining under the OPG of ≤9% and ≤4%, respectively, while the moderate risk and high risk exceeded the goal threshold. For the OPG, freedom from MALE was 60 ± 5%, 46 ± 5%, and 22 ± 9% at 5 years for low-, moderate-, and high-risk groups, respectively (mean ± standard error of the mean; P = 0.008). Overall AFS was 55 ± 5%, 37 ± 6%, and 18 ± 7% at 5 years for low-, moderate-, and high-risk groups, respectively (mean ± standard error of the mean; P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Tibial anatomic morphology impacts isolated tibial endovascular intervention with adverse morphology associated with poorer short- and long-term outcomes. Risk stratification based on anatomic predictors should be an additional consideration as one intervenes on infra-popliteal vessels for CLTI.

Effect of EDTA with porous balloon on calcified lesion: An atherosclerotic cadaver study.

BACKGROUND: Ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid (EDTA) is a chelating agent used to dissolve calcium deposits but evidence in decalcifying atherosclerotic lesions is limited. AIMS: We assessed the feasibility and efficacy of EDTA delivered via porous balloon to target calcified lesions in cadaveric below-the-knee (BTK) arteries. METHODS: Using porcine carotid arteries, EDTA concentration was measured in the arterial wall and outside the artery at the 0-, 0.5-, 4-, and 24-h circulation after the injection through a porous balloon. In cadaver BTK samples, the proximal and distal anterior tibial artery (ATA) and distal posterior tibial artery (PTA) were studied. EDTA-2Na/H2O or EDTA-3Na/H2O were administrated using a porous balloon, then circulated for 6 h for EDTA-3Na/H2O and 24 h for EDTA-2Na/H2O and EDTA-3Na/H2O. Micro-CT imaging of the artery segments before and after the circulation and cross-sectional analyses were performed to evaluate calcium burden. RESULTS: In the porcine carotid study, EDTA was delivered through a porous balloon present in the arterial wall and was retained there for 24 h. In BTK arteries, cross-sectional analyses of micro-CT revealed a significant decrease in the calcium area in the distal ATA segment under 24-h circulation with EDTA-2Na/H2O and in the distal ATA segment under 24-h circulation with EDTA-3Na/H2O. The proximal ATA segment under 6-h circulation with EDTA-3Na/H2O showed no significant change in any parameters of calcium CONCLUSION: EDTA-3Na/H2O or EDTA-2Na/H2O with longer circulation times resulted in greater calcium reduction in atherosclerotic lesion. EDTA may have a potential therapeutic option for the treatment of atherosclerotic calcified lesions.

Artificial intelligence of arterial Doppler waveforms to predict major adverse outcomes among patients with diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) are at increased risk for peripheral artery disease (PAD) and its complications. Arterial calcification and non-compressibility may limit test interpretation in this population. Developing tools capable of identifying PAD and predicting major adverse cardiac event (MACE) and limb event (MALE) outcomes among patients with DM would be clinically useful. Deep neural network analysis of resting Doppler arterial waveforms was used to detect PAD among patients with DM and to identify those at greatest risk for major adverse outcome events. METHODS: Consecutive patients with DM undergoing lower limb arterial testing (April 1, 2015-December 30, 2020) were randomly allocated to training, validation, and testing subsets (60%, 20%, and 20%). Deep neural networks were trained on resting posterior tibial arterial Doppler waveforms to predict all-cause mortality, MACE, and MALE at 5 years using quartiles based on the distribution of the prediction score. RESULTS: Among 11,384 total patients, 4211 patients with DM met study criteria (mean age, 68.6 ± 11.9 years; 32.0% female). After allocating the training and validation subsets, the final test subset included 856 patients. During follow-up, there were 262 deaths, 319 MACE, and 99 MALE. Patients in the upper quartile of prediction based on deep neural network analysis of the posterior tibial artery waveform provided independent prediction of death (hazard ratio [HR], 3.58; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.31-5.56), MACE (HR, 2.06; 95% CI, 1.49-2.91), and MALE (HR, 13.50; 95% CI, 5.83-31.27). CONCLUSIONS: An artificial intelligence enabled analysis of a resting Doppler arterial waveform permits identification of major adverse outcomes including all-cause mortality, MACE, and MALE among patients with DM.

Anterior Tibial Artery Danger Zone During Anterolateral Plate Fixation of the Distal Tibia: A 3D Computed Tomography Angiogram Modeling Study.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to define the danger zone at which the anterior tibial artery (ATA) is at risk during anterolateral plating of the distal tibia using a novel 3D computed tomography angiography (CTA) modeling technique. METHODS: 116 patients (232 lower extremities) who underwent lower extremity CTAs between April 2020 and April 2022 were identified. Those with lower extremity trauma, evidence of a previously healed tibial fracture, or poor visualization of the ATA were excluded. The remaining 150 lower extremities (92 patients) were modeled with an anterolateral distal tibia plate using Sectra IDS7 software. The distance of the ATA from bony landmarks was measured perpendicular to the level at which the vessel intersected the plate. RESULTS: The ATA intersected the plate proximally at a mean distance of 10.5 cm (95% confidence intervals, 10.2-10.9) and at a mean distance of 4.6 cm (95% confidence intervals, 4.4-4.9) distally from the central tibial plafond. The ATA intersected with the plate as far distal as hole number 1 and as proximal as hole 14 of the plate. The greatest injury risk was associated with plate holes 3-8. In this region, the artery was at risk in 46-99 percent of specimens. CONCLUSIONS: The ATA is at risk when screws are placed percutaneously in an anterolateral distal tibia plate. The artery can be as close as 4.4 cm and as far as 10.9 cm proximal to the tibial plafond when crossing the plate, correlating to a risk of injury to the ATA at plate holes 1 through 14.

Tortuosity and Pulsatility of the Tibial Artery - Two Case Reports of a Rare Etiology of Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome.

Tarsal tunnel syndrome is a neuropathic compression of the tibial nerve and its branches on the medial side of the ankle. It is a challenging diagnosis that constitutes symptoms arising from damage to the posterior tibial nerve or its branches as they proceed through the tarsal tunnel below the flexor retinaculum in the medial ankle, easily forgotten and underdiagnosed. Neural compression by vascular structures has been suggested as a possible etiology in some clinical conditions. Tibial artery tortuosity is not that rare, but only that it affects the nerve can cause tarsal tunnel syndrome. Therefore, a study care must be taken to avoid false-positive errors.

Velocidades tibiales por ecografía Doppler y validez del índice tobillo-profunda en la enfermedad arterial periférica / Tibial velocities by duplex ultrasound and validity of the ankle-profunda index in peripheral arterial disease

Introducción: Existe cierta relación entre las velocidades de las arterias tibiales y la progresión de la enfermedad arterial periférica (EAP). Asimismo, el índice tobillo-profunda (ITP) ha sido descrito como posible herramienta diagnóstica en la EAP. Los objetivos son validar y establecer criterios de referencia como guía en la interpretación de la ecografía dúplex (ED) en pacientes con EAP, así como cuantificar, correlacionar y validar el ITP como método diagnóstico en la EAP. Material y métodos: Durante un periodo de 6 meses se examinaron con ED pacientes consecutivos con EAP y controles sanos. Se midieron la velocidad pico sistólica (VPS) en el origen de la arteria femoral profunda (AFP) y en el segmento distal de los tres vasos tibiales de cada extremidad inferior. Se calcularon la VPS tibial media y el ITP definido como la VPS tibial media entre la VPS de la AFP. Se analizaron y compararon los datos entre los dos grupos. Resultados: Se obtuvieron datos de 35 extremidades con EAP (18 categorías Rutherford 3 a 6; 7 categorías Rutherford 1 y 2) y 25 controles sanos. La VPS tibial media en pacientes con arteriopatía fue significativamente menor que en controles sanos (38,05 vs. 63,21; p < 0,001), mientras la VPS de la AFP fue significativamente mayor (124,2 vs. 79,68; p < 0,001). En la agrupación por terciles según el índice tobillo-brazo (ITB), se encontró una disminución del ITB equiparable a la disminución de las velocidades tibiales (31,69 para ITB entre 0,4-0,6 y 58,57 para ITB > 0,6; p < 0,001) y del ITP (0,285 para ITB entre 0,4-0,6 y 0,718 para ITB > 0,6; p < 0,001). Conclusiones: En la EAP existe una disminución gradual de las velocidades tibiales con la disminución del ITB equiparable al ITP. Estos hallazgos deben ser validados de una manera multiinstitucional y prospectiva, pudiendo en última instancia establecer el ITP como herramienta para la interpretación de la EAP permitiendo además proporcionar información valiosa en la evaluación de pacientes con ITB no compresible

Introduction: There is a certain relationship between the arterial velocities of the tibial vessels and the progression of peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Likewise, the ankle-profunda index (API) has been described as a possible diagnostic tool in peripheral arterial disease (PAD). The objectives of this study are to validate and establish reference criteria as a guide in the interpretation of duplex ultrasound (DUS) in patients with PAD, as well as to quantify, correlate, and validate the API as a diagnostic tool in PAD patients. Material and methods: Consecutive patients with PAD and healthy controls were examined using DUS, over a 6-month period. The peak systolic velocity (PSV) was measured at the origin of the deep femoral artery (DFA) and in the distal segment of the three tibial vessels of each lower extremity. The mean tibial PSV and the ankle-profunda index (API) defined as the mean tibial PSV between the PSV of the DFA, were calculated. The data between the two groups were analysed and compared. Results: Data was obtained from 35 limbs with PAD (18 Rutherford's Category 3 to 6; 7 Rutherford's Category 1 and 2), and 25 healthy controls. The mean tibial PSV in patients with PAD was significantly lower than in controls (38.05 vs. 63.21, P < .001), while the PSV of the DFA was significantly higher (124.2 vs. 79.68, P < .001). When grouping into ABI-tertiles, a decrease in the ankle-brachial index (ABI) was comparable to the reduction in tibial velocities (31.69 for ABI between 0.4-0.6 and 58.57 for ABI > 0.6, P < .001), and API (0.285 for ABI between 0.4-0.6 and 0.718 for ABI > 0.6, P < .001). Conclusions: In PAD patients, there is a gradual reduction in the tibial velocities comparable to the decrease of ABI and API. These findings should be validated in a multicentre prospective study, in order to establish the API as a tool for the interpretation of PAD, and providing additional information for patients with non-compressible ABI

Síndrome do aprisionamento da artéria tibial anterior: relato de caso / Anterior tibial artery entrapment syndrome: case report

A claudicação intermitente é uma queixa geralmente relacionada com oclusão arterial secundária a doença aterosclerótica. Entretanto, em pacientes jovens com queixa de claudicação, outras causas devem ser pesquisadas, como a síndrome do aprisionamento da artéria poplítea, síndrome compartimental crônica, compressões ósseas e arterites. Os autores relatam o caso de um paciente com claudicação intermitente devido à compressão extrínseca da artéria tibial anterior pela membrana interóssea, diagnosticada através de angiorressonância durante manobras de dorsiflexão do pé. A paciente foi tratada com sucesso através da liberação do fator compressivo, evoluindo com melhora dos sintomas.

Lower extremity intermittent claudication is usually related to atherosclerotic disease. The most common non-atherosclerotic causes are arterites, chronic compartmental syndrome, bone compression, and popliteal entrapment syndrome. The authors report a case of a patient with intermittent claudication related to anterior tibial artery entrapment caused by the interosseous membrane. Magnetic resonance angiography showed compression of the anterior tibial artery during dynamic maneuvers and the patient was managed by releasing the cause of compression, resulting in relief from claudication.

Aneurisma verdadeiro bilateral de artéria tibial posterior / True bilateral aneurysm of the posterior tibial artery

Neste artigo, faz-se o relato de um caso de aneurisma verdadeiro bilateral da artéria tibial posterior em paciente de 57 anos. Os aneurismas surgiram em épocas diferentes. Os aspectos clínicos, diagnósticos e terapêuticos deste caso são discutidos. Este relato é importante, pois os autores não têm conhecimento de caso semelhante na literatura consultada.