Quality of life in patients with intermittent claudication

Area of Science:

• Vascular Medicine
• Health Economics
• Quality of Life Research

Background:

• Intermittent claudication (IC) management often involves conservative treatment due to infrequent progression to limb loss.
• Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) is a newer intervention for IC, raising questions about its cost-effectiveness and resource implications.
• Objective medical criteria alone do not fully capture patient well-being, necessitating quality of life (QoL) assessments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of IC on patients' quality of life.
• To establish a basis for resource allocation by understanding the patient-centered outcomes of IC.
• To advocate for the inclusion of QoL measures in evaluating IC treatments.

Main Methods:

• The Nottingham Health Profile questionnaire was administered via post to patients with IC and age/sex-matched controls.
• A response rate of 70% was achieved in both groups.
• Exclusion criteria included recent intervention for claudicants and any leg pain on walking for controls.

Main Results:

• Claudicants reported significantly greater problems with energy, pain, emotional reactions, sleep, and physical mobility compared to controls (p < 0.05).
• The claudicant group showed a significantly higher positive response rate regarding problems with activities of daily living (0.05 > p > 0.02).

Conclusions:

• IC substantially diminishes patients' quality of life across multiple domains.
• Given the significant QoL impact and potential resource implications of new treatments like PTA, QoL measures are crucial for treatment evaluation.
• Further trials comparing IC treatments should incorporate QoL assessments alongside traditional efficacy and safety parameters.