Acute limb ischemia
| Acute limb ischaemia | |
|---|---|
| Synonyms | acute limb ischemia |
 |
|
| Acute embolism to the right femoral artery resulting in ischemia | |
| Classification and external resources | |
| ICD-9-CM | 459.9 |
| DiseasesDB | 7480 |
Acute limb ischaemia (ALI) occurs when there is a sudden lack of blood flow to a limb.
Acute limb ischaemia is caused by embolism or thrombosis, or rarely by dissection or trauma. Thrombosis is usually caused by peripheral vascular disease (atherosclerotic disease that leads to blood vessel blockage), while an embolism is usually of cardiac origin. In the United States, ALI is estimated to occur in 14 out of every 100,000 people per year. With proper surgical care, acute limb ischaemia is a highly treatable condition; however, delayed treatment (beyond 6 to 12 hours) can result in permanent disability, amputation, and/or death.
The New Latin term ischaemia as written, is a British version of the word ischemia, and stems from the Greek terms ischein 'to hold'; and haima 'blood'. In this sense, ischaemia refers to the inhibition of blood flow to/through the limb.
Acute limb ischaemia can occur in patients through all age groups. Patients that smoke and have diabetes mellitus are at a higher risk of developing acute limb ischaemia. Most cases involve people with atherosclerosis problems.
Symptoms of acute limb ischaemia include:
These symptoms are called "the six P's'"; they are commonly mis-attributed to compartment syndrome. One more symptom would be the development of gangrene. Immediate medical attention should be sought with any of the symptoms.
When a limb is ischemic in the non-acute (chronic) setting, the condition is alternatively called peripheral artery disease or critical limb ischemia, rather than ALI. In addition to limb ischemia, other organs can become ischemic, causing:
In order to treat acute limb ischaemia there are a series of things that can be done to determine where the occlusion is located, the severity, and what the cause was. To find out where the occlusion is located one of the things that can be done is simply a pulse examination to see where the heart rate can be detected and where it stops being sensed. Also there is a lower body temperature below the occlusion as well as paleness. A Doppler evaluation is used to show the extent and severity of the ischaemia by showing flow in smaller arteries. Other diagnostical tools are duplex ultrasonography, computed tomography angiography (CTA), and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). The CTA and MRA are used most often because the duplex ultrasonography although non-invasive is not precise in planning revascularization. CTA uses radiation and may not pick up on vessels for revascularization that are distal to the occlusion, but it is much quicker than MRA. In treating acute limb ischaemia time is everything.
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