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Related Experiment Videos

Should we palpate foot pulses?

T R Magee1, P R Stanley, R al Mufti

  • 1Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital Wonford.

Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England
|May 1, 1992
PubMed
Summary

Assessing foot pulses for arterial disease shows significant observer error in palpation. Doppler pressure measurement is a more reliable method for evaluating pedal vessels, especially when pulses are not bounding.

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Area of Science:

  • Vascular Medicine
  • Diagnostic Accuracy
  • Medical Imaging

Background:

  • Palpation of foot pulses is a traditional method for assessing peripheral arterial disease.
  • Observer variation in pulse assessment can impact clinical decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate observer variation in the assessment of pedal pulses using palpation versus Doppler auscultation.
  • To compare the reliability of palpation and Doppler methods in evaluating dorsalis pedis and posterior tibial arteries.

Main Methods:

  • A study involving 33 claudicant patients and 5 controls examined by multiple healthcare professionals.
  • Dorsalis pedis (DP) and posterior tibial (PT) pulses were assessed by palpation and Doppler auscultation with systolic pressure measurements.

Main Results:

  • Observer agreement was lower for palpation of PT pulses (53%) compared to DP pulses (67%).
  • Doppler assessment showed higher agreement for PT arteries (78%) than DP arteries (58%).
  • Doppler pressure measurements demonstrated high inter-observer agreement.

Conclusions:

  • Pedal pulse palpation in patients with arterial disease is prone to substantial observer error.
  • Doppler pressure measurement is a more reliable and preferable method for evaluating pedal vessels in patients with arterial disease, unless pulses are bounding.

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