Toe Pressure As A Standalone Vascular Assessment Of The Foot

This study aims to verify whether toe pressure (TP) or toe-brachial index (TBI) has better thresholds of sensitivity/specificity for PAD detection. A single-centre retrospective analysis was conducted of prospective data collected on 108 ambulatory patients recruited at the Complex Wound Care Clinic in Canada. Patients were included with any kind of lower limb wound without regard to any diagnosis of chronic kidney disease, diabetes, PAD or CLTI. TP with photoplethysmography (PPG) and laser Doppler flowmetry, dorsalis pedis and posterior tibialis arteries waveforms have been assessed. Of 108 patients, (40%) presented with monophasic dorsalis pedis arteries (DPA) indicating insufficient vascularization on the left foot and 34 (31%) on the right foot and 55% of the patients had diabetes. The study showed toe pressure seems to be a standalone vascular test of the forefoot, while performing the calculation of TBI appears to be of no added values for detecting PAD, based on this study.