Demographic, clinical, and anthropometric profiles and postoperative outcomes in patients with chronic limb threatening ischemia: A prospective descriptive study.

Background: Chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) is a complex disease caused by peripheral artery disease. It is associated with ischemic foot pain (rest pain) and tissue loss in the form of chronic nonhealing foot ulcers or gangrene. CLTI has a high short-term risk of limb amputations, postoperative sepsis, and cardiovascular-related events.

Aims: The present study was conducted to assess the demographic and anthropometric profile of patients with CLTI and their postoperative outcomes after 2-year follow-up at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa.

Methods: This prospective descriptive pilot study, nested in a prospective cohort study, included adult patients with CLTI admitted to Groote Schuur Hospital from 1st January 2015 to 31st December 2016. Demographic data, anthropometric markers of CLTI, and the postoperative outcomes were documented using piloted and pretested vascular questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used for baseline data, and postoperative outcomes were presented using actuarial life-table method (Kaplan-Meier analysis). Odds ratio, 95% confidence interval, and P value < 0.05 were used to test the hypothesis.

Results: Thirty-seven (50.6%) patients had a BMI >25.0. The mean waist: hip ratio was 0.96. Prevalence of smoking was 86%. Limb salvage and ambulation at 1 year were 79% and 67%, respectively. Majority of the patients who were ambulant preoperatively remained ambulant postoperatively.

Conclusion: Most patients had truncal obesity with a high prevalence of smoking. High postoperative ambulatory recovery among ambulant preoperative patients was a significant outcome observed in our study.