Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Distal pulse palpation: is it reliable?

M Lundin1, J P Wiksten, T Peräkylä

  • 1Department of Surgery, Division of Vascular Surgery, Helsinki University Central Hospital, P.O. Box 262, 00029 HUCH, Helsinki, Finland.

World Journal of Surgery
|February 6, 1999
PubMed
Summary

Pulse palpation for lower limb arterial disease is unreliable, leading to significant misdiagnosis. Objective measurements are crucial, though careful palpation can be tolerable in ideal conditions.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Fast Phenotypic and Genetic Changes in Life History and Mortality of Experimental Populations of Guppies (<i>Poecilia reticulata</i>) Exposed to Size-Dependent Harvest in a Decade-Long Selection Experiment.

Evolutionary applications·2026
Same author

Cultural adaptation, content, and protocol of a feasibility study of school-based "Let's learn about emotions" intervention for Finnish primary school children.

Frontiers in psychiatry·2024
Same author

Postoperative non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use and oncological outcomes of rectal cancer.

BJS open·2021
Same author

The Introduction of Adult Appendicitis Score Reduced Negative Appendectomy Rate.

Scandinavian journal of surgery : SJS : official organ for the Finnish Surgical Society and the Scandinavian Surgical Society·2017
Same author

Pilot Assessment of the Repeatability of Indocyanine Green Fluorescence Imaging and Correlation with Traditional Foot Perfusion Assessments.

European journal of vascular and endovascular surgery : the official journal of the European Society for Vascular Surgery·2016
Same author

Strategies for free flap transfer and revascularisation with long-term outcome in the treatment of large diabetic foot lesions.

European journal of vascular and endovascular surgery : the official journal of the European Society for Vascular Surgery·2015

Area of Science:

  • Vascular Medicine
  • Diagnostic Accuracy

Background:

  • Distal pulse palpation is a common method for assessing lower limb arterial disease.
  • The reliability of this technique, especially in busy clinical settings, requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the diagnostic reliability of distal pulse palpation in patients with suspected lower limb arterial disease.
  • To compare the agreement among different healthcare professionals and settings.

Main Methods:

  • Palpation of dorsalis pedis and tibialis posterior arteries in 25 patients.
  • Independent assessment by vascular surgeons, medical students, vascular nurses, and a physician.
  • Comparison of palpation findings with ankle/brachial index (ABI) measurements.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • A high degree of misdiagnosis (over 30% underdiagnosis) was observed.
  • Agreement was highest in a quiet vascular laboratory (kappa 0.68) and lowest in a busy outpatient clinic (kappa 0.38).
  • Ankle/brachial index (ABI) cutoff of 0.76 best separated palpable from unpalpable pulses.

Conclusions:

  • Pulse palpation alone is insufficient for diagnosing lower limb arterial disease due to poor agreement and high misdiagnosis rates in busy clinics.
  • Objective measurements like ABI are necessary when ischemia is suspected.
  • Careful palpation under non-hurried conditions can yield tolerable accuracy.