European journal of vascular and endovascular surgery : the official journal of the European Society for Vascular Surgery
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Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg · Aug 2017
Weak Links in the Early Chain of Care of Acute Lower Limb Ischaemia in Terms of Recognition and Emergency Management.
Acute lower limb ischaemia (ALLI) is a potentially fatal, limb threatening medical emergency. Early treatment is essential for a good outcome. The aim was to describe the early chain of care in ALLI focusing on lead times and emergency management in order to identify weak links for improvement. ⋯ Both the time spent in the ED and the time from the onset of symptoms to revascularisation were considerably longer than optimal. Time delays in the early treatment chain can mainly be attributed to "patient delay" and a considerable time spent in hospital before revascularisation. The use of LMWH as an integral part of ED management was associated with a better outcome.