The relation of anatomical distribution of symptomatic peripheral arterial disease (PAD) with HbA1c level in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

AIMS: Increased level of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is associated with an increased prevalence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD). This study aimed to assess the relationship between the anatomical distribution of symptomatic PAD lesions in patients with type 2 diabetes and HbA1c levels at the time of PAD diagnosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted at King Abdullah University Hospital during the period August 2011 to December 2015. Consecutive patients with type 2 diabetes presented with symptomatic PAD confirmed by computed tomography-angiography (CTA) were included in this study. CTA images were reviewed. Relevant information including demographic data, PAD symptoms, comorbidities, HbA1c level, lipid profile, C-reactive protein and the mean platelets volume were retrieved from medical records. RESULTS: A total of 332 patients with type 2 diabetes (255 males and 77 females) were included in this study. The mean HbA1c at the time of PAD diagnosis was 8.68% (±2.06%). The prevalence of hemodynamic relevant atherosclerotic lesions of the superficial femoral artery, popliteal artery, leg vessels, femoro-popliteal, and crural segments was significantly higher in patients with HbA1c >7.5% compared with patients with HbA1c ⩽7.5%. CONCLUSION: The anatomical distribution of symptomatic PAD in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus differed significantly according to HbA1c level at the time of PAD diagnosis.

Predictors of major lower limb amputation in type 2 diabetic patients referred for hospital care with diabetic foot syndrome.

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to determine the risk factors of major lower extremity amputations in type 2 diabetic patients referred for hospital care with diabetic foot syndrome. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective study involved 225 type 2 diabetic patients referred for management of diabetic foot syndrome at King Abdullah University Hospital in the period between January 2014 and December 2015. A structured customized diabetic foot data collection form with diabetic foot characteristics chart was used for documentation of relevant information, which checks for age, sex, body mass index, smoking, duration of diabetes, diabetic control therapy, associated hypertension, cardiac diseases, stroke, chronic renal impairment, renal replacement therapy (hem-dialysis), and history of diabetes-related complication in both feet prior to the study period. The predictors for major lower limb amputations were compared between groups using chi-square test, and binary logistic regression was used to determine the factors associated with major amputation. RESULTS: Twenty-seven limbs underwent major amputations with an overall rate of major amputation of 11.6%. The following predictors were found to be associated with the higher incidence of major lower limb amputations: duration of diabetes ≥15 years, HbA1c ≥8%, patients on insulin, with hypertension, cardiac diseases, chronic renal impairment, stroke, having gangrene, higher number of components, higher Wagner classification, and ischemia. However, the rate did not differ significantly between men and women. CONCLUSION: Presentation with gangrenous tissue and poor glycemic control are the important risks and significant predictive factors for type 2 diabetes-related major lower limb amputations.

Inter-observer variability in fetal biometric measurements.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate inter-observer variability and reproducibility of ultrasound measurements for fetal biometric parameters. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective cohort study was implemented in two tertiary care hospitals in Amman, Jordan; Prince Hamza Hospital and Albashir Hospital. 192 women with a singleton pregnancy at a gestational age of 18-36 weeks were the participants in the study. Transabdominal scans for fetal biometric parameter measurement were performed on study participants from the period of November 2014 to March 2015. Women who agreed to participate in the study were administered two ultrasound scans for head circumference, abdominal circumference and femur length. The correlation coefficient was calculated. Bland-Altman plots were used to analyze the degree of measurement agreement between observers. Limits of agreement ± 2 SD for the differences in fetal biometry measurements in proportions of the mean of the measurements were derived. Main outcome measures examine the reproducibility of fetal biometric measurements by different observers. RESULTS: High inter-observer inter-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was found for femur length (0.990) and abdominal circumference (0.996) where Bland-Altman plots showed high degrees of agreement. The highest degrees of agreement were noted in the measurement of abdominal circumference followed by head circumference. The lowest degree of agreement was found for femur length measurement. We used a paired-sample t-test and found that the mean difference between duplicate measurements was not significant (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Biometric fetal parameter measurements may be reproducible by different operators in the clinical setting with similar results. Fetal head circumference, abdominal circumference and femur length were highly reproducible. Large organized studies are needed to ensure accurate fetal measurements due to the important clinical implications of inaccurate measurements.