Risk Factors for Peripheral Neurovascular Dysfunction in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus and Arteriosclerosis Obliterans: A Pilot Study

• Published in: The international journal of nursing terminologies and classifications Vol. 14; no. s4; p. 47
• Main Authors: Egawa, Takako, Imai, Yukika, Kurihara, Hiroko, Hanafusa, Moshiaki, Uehara, Junko, Ogino, Satoshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Science Inc 01.10.2003; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Arteriosclerosis; Diabetes; Diagnostic tests; Health risk assessment; Medical equipment; Neurological disorders; Nursing; Risk factors; Sensory perception
• ISSN: 1541-5147; 2047-3087; 1744-618X; 2047-3095
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-618X.2003.046_4.x

PURPOSE To develop a nursing diagnostic tool to help prevent foot disease in patients with diabetes mellitus at risk for developing peripheral neurovascular dysfunction. METHODS Subjects were 24 patients with diabetes mellitus. Ankle pressure index, percutaneous oxygen partial pressure (PtcO2), and circulation in the foot were measured using a laser flow meter. Neurologic disorders were evaluated using the Achilles reflex, sensory tests, and taste tests. Basic data (age, gender, fasting blood glucose as an indicator of the duration and severity of disease, hemoglobin, total cholesterol, lipids) were gathered from medical records. Patients were divided into two groups: those who had arteriosclerosis obliterans (10 males, 5 females) and those who did not (5 males, 4 females). FINDINGS There was a significant decrease in ankle pressure, PtcO2, and sensory perception in the feet of those with arteriosclerosis obliterans. There was also a significant decrease in taste sensation in this group. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that patients with diabetes mellitus who have arteriosclerosis obliterans are already at risk for developing neurologic disorders and arteriosclerosis in the lower limbs. Clinical symptoms measured were able to determine risk for peripheral neurovascular dysfunction in patients with diabetes. The screening and assessment of these risk factors is noninvasive, making it possible for nurses to perform them by using their assessment skills.