Improvement of quality of life in diabetic patients treated with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty

To assess the quality of life (QoL) of treated patients in order to evaluate the success of peripheral transluminal angioplasty (PTA) and correlate physical parameters with clinical progress at 6 months post-PTA. According to TASC II classifications, 69 patients were selected for PTA. Clinical evaluation and diagnostic tests were performed before, after and after 6 months following PTA. The SF-36 QoL questionnaire was added as an additional parameter. Fifty one patients were included in the study. The ankle-brachial index (ABI) increased from 0.49 +/- 0.11 before PTA, to 0.81 +/- 0.14 after PTA (P<.001) and 0.76 +/- 0.10 at 6 months following PTA (P<.001). Transcutaneous oxygen pressure (TcPO2) increased from 28.05 +/- 3.15 mm Hg before PTA, to 39.89 +/- 4.12 after PTA (P<.001) and 46.4 +/- 3.81 at 6 months following PTA (P<.001). The lumen of the affected blood vessel increased from 29 +/- 18% before PTA, to 81 +/- 10.3% after PTA (P<.001). SF-36 values increased from 29 +/- 18 before PTA, to 81 +/- 10.36 at 6 months following PTA (P<.001). The improvement of QoL is the parameter that best describes the symptoms and functionality of the patient, therefore, should be used to determine the successful PTA. Although ABI and TcPO2 with arteries functionality and tissue oxygenation, they are not show a significant correlation with all parameters determined in the QoL questionnaire.