PAD is present in 50% of diabetic patients with ulcerative wounds and is a widely recognised risk factor for major amputations. The negative prognosis of ischaemic selleck kinase inhibitor ulcerative lesions in diabetic patients is probably related to the co-existence of factors such as the anatomical distribution of PAD, infection, neuropathy and renal insufficiency and the concomitant presence of other coronary and cerebral vascular manifestations. About 27% of diabetic subjects with PAD experience progressive disease in the following 5 years, and 4% undergo major amputation; about 20% manifest a cardiovascular event (myocardial infarction or stroke). The prognosis of diabetic patients with

critical limb ischaemia (CLI) is even more serious as 30% may require a major amputation and 20% die of cardiovascular disease within 1 year [41]. Non-revascularisation of PAD diabetic patients is an independent predictive factor of amputation [16] and also an independent determinant of poor survival [18]. The risk of co-existing ischaemic heart disease in diabetic patients with PAD is 50% [42], [43] and [44]. The simultaneous presence of silent and non-silent myocardial ischaemia is significantly

more frequent in diabetic than in non-diabetic subjects [45] and [46], which means that all diabetic patients with PAD should undergo diagnostic investigations of the coronary district in order to identify any previously CAL-101 unknown coronary disease. Diabetic patients with PAD have frequently a concomitant chronic renal insufficiency (CRI) requiring haemodialysis, which means that the vascular damage is more severe and progresses more rapidly than in diabetic patients without end-stage renal disease. Renal disease is one of the most important factors underlying the

unfavourable course of an ulcerative lesion, and dialysis is 6-phosphogluconolactonase one of the main risk factors for ulceration and amputation in diabetic patients [3] and [47]. Distal revascularisation in dialysed patients is a challenge because they are more susceptible to infections, uraemia further hinders the healing of ulcerative lesions and PAD is complicated by the presence of marked calcifications of the vessel walls. Furthermore, the risk of major amputation is 4.7 times higher than in non-dialysed subjects [8]. Diabetic subjects with renal insufficiency also experience more perioperative complications such as sepsis and heart failure, and there is a high rate of mortality due to surgical revascularisation (2.4–13%) [8]. However, despite the complexity of the local and general management of diabetic PAD patients undergoing dialysis, recent data show that 1-year limb salvage can be as high as 65–75%. [48] • Diabetic patients rarely experience the early symptomatic manifestation of PAD (claudication) because of the frequent concomitance of sensitive motor neuropathy. In the case of suspected PAD, a number of examinations need to be carried in order to assess the severity of the clinical picture.