Diagnostic work-up of patients with intermittent claudication

In this paper a number of techniques are described that provide information concerning the functional disturbances caused by anatomic lesions within the vascular system in patients with intermittent claudication. These techniques are part of a currently growing entity that is called the "Vascular Laboratory". Main characteristics of these techniques are that they are painless, atraumatic and without any danger to the patient. Therefore, they can both be used for diagnosis as well as for follow-up of the patients. Moreover, many of them are useful for detecting stenotic lesions at an early stage of evolution. In any patient with intermittent claudication, the walking distance, oscillography at rest and after exercise and systolic blood pressure determination should be performed. Segmental plethysmography is extremely sensitive mainly when performed together with systolic blood pressure determination. Venous occlusion plethysmography has been significantly improved in recent years and is capable of providing direct information concerning the circulation through the diseased limb. There seems to be tremendous improvement in the techniques using ultrasound allowing presently construction of an anatomic picture of the vessels (Ultrasonic arteriography).