• U Bulut, T Gunvar, and A D Guldal.
• Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, Turkey.
• Niger J Clin Pract. 2020 May 1; 23 (5): 668-674.

BackgroundIn primary care, measurement of the ankle-brachial index (ABI) by using hand Doppler is recommended for screening of peripheral arterial disease. Despite being relatively a simple procedure, the ABI is rarely measured in primary care due to unpracticality of the hand Doppler method. Oscillometry is an accessible, reliable, and an easy to use method for the measurement of ABI. With a little training, it can be used by anybody. Aim: The aim of the study is to compare the oscillometric method with a reference test (i.e. hand Doppler) for the screening of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and arterial stiffness (AS) in primary care.MethodsA prospective observational diagnostic study was designed. Participants were 45 years of age or older. A survey including demographic data, risk factors, and symptoms of the peripheral arterial disease was applied to the participants besides measuring ABI both by Doppler and oscillometric methods.ResultsThree hundred and forty participants included in our study with 59.78 ± 9.8 mean age. 60.9% of the participants were men. Even though the results of the oscillometric calculations were higher, a strong correlation was observed between the measurements of two methods. Using the Doppler-derived ABI, as the gold standard, and 0, 9 as a cutoff point, the sensitivity and specificity of the oscillometric method was 74.4% and 100%, respectively, with an area under the curve of 0.98 (95% CI: 0.96-0.99).ConclusionOscillometry seemed to be a reliable screening method in primary care both for peripheral arterial disease and AS.

16 keywords...

hide…