Simultaneous pain intensity rating and quantification of ischemia throughout exercise and recovery in proximal versus distal arterial claudication.

Data on simultaneous hemodynamic changes and pain rating estimation in arterial claudication while walking are lacking. This study was conducted to determine if a difference in transcutaneous oxygen pressure (tc pO2) exists between proximal and distal localization at pain appearance (PAINapp), maximal pain (PAINmax) and pain relief (PAINrel) in proximal or distal claudication and if a relationship exists between tc pO2 changes and pain intensity. We analyzed the pain rating (Visual Analog Scale (VAS)) to lower limb ischemia, measured with the decrease from rest of oxygen pressure (DROP) tc pO2 index during constant-load treadmill tests in patients with calf ( n = 41) or buttock ( n = 19) claudication. Calves versus buttocks results were analyzed with ANOVA tests. The R2 correlation coefficient between individual VAS versus DROP was calculated. Ischemia intensity versus pain rating changes were correlated. Significant ischemia was required for pain appearance, but pain disappeared despite the persistence of ischemia. We observed no statistical difference for DROP at PAINapp, PAINmax or PAINrel between proximal or distal claudication. A significant correlation between pain rating versus DROP was found: from PAINapp to PAINmax, R2 = 0.750 (calves) and 0.829 (buttocks), and from PAINmax to PAINrel, R2 = 0.608 (calves) and 0.560 (buttocks); p<0.05. Pain appeared after a significant decrease of hemodynamic parameters but disappeared while parameters were not normalized. No difference in pain rating was found in proximal versus distal claudication.