Functional Status and Quality of Life among Elderly Patients with Chronic Lower Limb Ischemia at Assiut University Hospital

Functional Status and Quality of Life among Elderly Patients with Chronic Lower Limb Ischemia at Assiut University HospitalAbstract Background: Chronic lower limb ischemia is a serious form of peripheral artery disease that affects older adults, significantly impacting their quality of life and functional abilities and causing morbidity. Aim: To assess functional status and quality of life among elderly patients with chronic lower limb ischemia. Design: A descriptive research design was utilized to conduct this study. Settings: Inpatient ward and outpatient clinic of the vascular surgery department at Assiut University Hospital. Sample: A purposive sample of 258 elderly patients with chronic lower limb ischemia. Tools: Three tools were utilized, tool (I) structured interview questionnaire, tool (II) functional status questionnaire and tool (III) vascular quality of life. Results: The present study revealed that functional status mean score showed that lowest mean score was 42.29 at social activity and highest mean score was 70.71 at basic activities of daily living and vascular quality of life mean score was 2.99. There was a positively significant correlation between function status and quality of life. Conclusion: Chronic lower limb ischemia has negatively significant implications on functional status and quality of life among geriatric patients with chronic lower limb ischemia. Recommendation: Provide educational programs about chronic lower limb ischemia designed for geriatric patients focusing on enhancing their function status and quality of life.Keywords: Chronic lower limb ischemia, Elderly, Functional status & Quality of life.