Impact of treatment on the quality of life in patients with critical limb ischaemia

Abstract

Aim: The purpose of this study was to assess the quality of life (QOL) in patients with critical lower limb ischaemia (CLI), and its modification after three types of therapeutical outcomes. Materials and methods: Between January and December 2000 52 patients (36 male, mean age 68 years) treated for critical limb ischaemia (CLI) completed the Short form (SF)-36 on admission and then 6 and 12 months later. Patients were divided in the 3 groups: Group I: revascularisation; Group II: major amputation; Group III: conservative treatment. Trends for each dimension over the follow-up and the effect of treatment group were assessed by an analysis of variance with repeated measurements. Results: On admission, patients with CLI had a significantly worse health-related quality of life than a control population. Although some domains improved, some also deteriorated between baseline and 12 months and there was no significant difference between the three treatment groups. Conclusions: Our results suggest that changes in dimensions of QOL obtained by limb revascularisation do not differ from those of other therapeutic approaches. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.