Does Dorsal Pedal Pulse Palpation Predict Hand-Held Doppler Measurement of Ankle-Brachial Index in Leg Ulcer Patients?
Disclosure: This study has been made possible by generous grants from the Gorthon Foundation, Helsingborg, Sweden. Introduction Leg ulceration is a common disease that inflicts substantial suffering on the patient and causes great economic strain on the healthcare system. Several recent studies in Sweden have found a point prevalence in the healthcare system varying between 0.12 and 0.3 percent.[1,2] Leg ulceration is not a disease per se but a symptom of an underlying disease in large or small blood vessels, physical agents, such as trauma, hydrostatic or mechanical pressure, and neoplasms. In previous years, establishment of etiological diagnosis has been of poor quality. Thus, estimation of the arterial circulation has mainly rested on palpation of pedal pulses, especially in the dorsal pedal artery. Identification of the pedal pulse, however, may be difficult in many patients, especially in those with edema. In recent years, a simple diagnostic tool, the hand-held Doppler, has beco
