Assessment of lower extremity arterial blood flow in females with knee osteoarthritis.

To investigate whether blood flow in the lower extremity arteries changes in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) using color Doppler ultrasonography. The study comprised 39 female patients with osteoarthritis and 30 healthy female controls. The patients were evaluated using visual analogue scale (VAS) at rest and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC). Color Doppler imaging was used to measure mid-diastolic velocity (MD), pulsatility index (PI), peak systolic velocity (PS), end-diastolic velocity (ED), vascular diameter, and flow volume in the external iliac (EIA), common femoral (CFA), superficial femoral (SFA), deep femoral (DFA), popliteal (PA), anterior tibial (ATA), posterior tibial (PTA), and distal superficial femoral arteries (DSFA). The femoral artery intima-media thickness (FIMT) was also measured. OA patients' PS and flow volume in the EIA and SFA were greater than those of controls, as were PI and ED in the EIA, ED in the PA, MD in the DFA, and the diameter of the PA, ATA, and PTA (p < 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in FIMT between patients with knee OA and controls (p > 0.05). The flow volume of the main arteries feeding the knee joint is significantly greater than normal in patients with symptomatic knee OA. No evidence was identified relating this difference to ischemic processes.