Methods of symptom evaluation and their impact on peripheral artery disease (PAD) symptom prevalence: a review

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a common progressive atherosclerotic occlusive disease that causes insufficient blood flow to the lower extremities. The symptom that health care professionals most often associate with PAD is claudication. However, patient reporting of claudication is highly variable. A structured literature review was conducted to evaluate how PAD symptoms are identified, defined, and categorized. This review focuses on the development and performance characteristics of PAD symptom questionnaires and the identification of a spectrum of leg symptoms beyond classic claudication. Additionally, potential confounders of PAD symptom reporting and strategies for a more comprehensive assessment of PAD symptoms are discussed. Overall, there is a lack of consistency in the utilization of PAD claudication questionnaires which impacts PAD symptom reporting and categorization. Based on this review, atypical symptoms are commonly reported, but poorly understood. Additional research is needed to gain a better understanding of the presentation of atypical symptoms, as well as the role of age, gender, race, and comorbid conditions on the symptom experience of patients with PAD.