Patients with chronic critical limb ischaemia have reduced total antioxidant capacity and impaired nutritional status

it has previously been demonstrated that total antioxidant capacity (TAC) can help predict which patients undergoing femoro-distal reconstruction are susceptible to postoperative infections.

the aims of this study were to examine if TAC is influenced by the nutritional state of the patient and the degree of ischaemia.

thirty patients with rest pain (21 men and 9 women), with a median age of 69 years and fifteen controls (9 men and 6 women), median age of 66 years, were studied. Nutritional status was assessed using serum albumin, body mass index (BMI), maximum voluntary contraction using a hand grip dynamometer and bioelectrical impedance to determine lean body mass. Blood was also taken for total antioxidant capacity (TAC).

patients with chronic critical limb ischaemia (CCLI) had a lower TAC than controls (752 vs 1,130 micromol/l, p<0.05 Mann-Whitney U -test). There was no difference in serum albumin concentration between the CCLI group compared with controls (31 mmol/L vs 35 mmol/L, p>0.05 Mann-Whitney U-test). There was also no difference in BMI (23 vs 27, p>0.05 U-test) between the two groups. The other markers of nutrition including, maximum voluntary contractions (28.6 kg/m(2)vs 37.4 kg/m(2), p<0.05 M-W U-test), and lean body mass (3.0 vs 3.8 M-W U-test), showed a significant reduction in the vascular patients.

TAC is significantly reduced in patients with CCLI and this may, in part, be explained by their impaired nutritional status.