[Characteristics of diagnosis of peripheral arterial occlusive disease in diabetic patients. This pitfall should be avoided]. / Besonderheiten der pAVK-Diagnostik bei Diabetikern. Diese Fallstricke sollten Sie meiden.

Doppler pressure measurement with determination of the ankle-arm indices, and duplex ultrasonography, together form the basis of the diagnostic investigation of the vascular system in diabetics. MR angiography and arteriography are not screening methods in suspected peripheral blood flow disorders. MR angiography should be applied only when findings are unclear and the therapeutic consequences uncertain. Invasive therapeutic measures (angioplasty, vascular surgery, amputation) must still be preceded by intra-arterial digital subtraction angiography as the method of choice.

[Diagnosis of arterial vascular diseases with duplex sonography. Often better than angiography]. / Diagnostik arterieller Gefässerkrankungen mit der Duplexsonographie. Oft besser als die Angiographie.

Color-coded duplex ultrasonography has decisively improved the noninvasive diagnostic possibilities in angiology. It is side effect-free, repeatable whenever required and, in experienced hands, can be performed within a reasonable time. In contrast, arterial angiography is a purely diagnostic but invasive procedure with an associated complication rate of 0.5% [25]. Color-coded duplex ultrasonography is an effective and inexpensive diagnostic method. The overall cost of such an examination is about 120 euros [25]; this contrasts with overall costs of 939 euros for MR angiography, and 1297 euros for an intra-arterial angiography.