Diagnostic Tools to Establish the Presence and Severity of Peripheral Arterial Disease in People With Diabetes

In the UK there are over 7,000 leg amputations each year because of diabetes. The most important cause of this is poor circulation. The detection of poor circulation in patients with diabetes is difficult. A number of tests exist to detect poor circulation (known as peripheral arterial disease (PAD)). However, there is confusion as to which is the gold standard.

The DM PAD study aims to determine the diagnostic performance of index tests (audible handheld Doppler, visual handheld Doppler, ankle brachial pressure index (ABPI), exercise ABPI and toe brachial pressure index (TBPI)) for the diagnosis of PAD in patients with diabetes as determined by a reference test (CTA or MRA).