A Triplex Ultrasound Evaluation of Preclinical Changes in Type 2 Diabetes in Foot Arteries

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a significant health problem that is becoming more prevalent worldwide. This study aimed to assess hemodynamic and morphological parameters in diabetic patients' foot arteries and compare them to those obtained in asymptomatic control group.

This is a cross-sectional case-control study. B-mode ultrasound, color Doppler, and pulse wave Doppler were conducted to assess the dorsalis pedis arteries (DPAs) and posterior tibial arteries (PTAs). The morphological, total vascular diameter, wall thickness, and flow Doppler indices were measured. A total of 200 hundred participants were selected randomly using a random sampling technique. One hundred diabetic patients and 100 non-diabetic persons were determined.

In diabetic patients, the overall grayscale diameter and wall thickness of foot arteries were statistically significantly larger than the asymptomatic group in the right DPA (p<0.01), left DPA (p<0.001), right PTA (p<0.001), and left PTA (p<0.001). In the diabetic group, the level of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) was positively correlated with blood flow resistive index (RI) in the right DPA (r=0.839; p<0.001), left DPA (r=0.801; p<0.001), right PTA (r=0.801; p<0.001), and left PTA (r=0.801; p<0.001). No significant differences were noted in both groups in blood flow Doppler parameters - pulsatility index (PI) and resistive index (RI).

Overall grayscale diameters of foot arteries are larger in the diabetes group than in the control group, indicating arterial wall thickening as an early indicator of diabetes-related alterations. PI of both DPA and RI of right DPA were increased in diabetic patients more than the control group. The level of glycosylatedhemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) was strongly linked with the blood flow resistive index in diabetes patients.