In claudication patients , SE is more effective than UE at improving maximal walking and claudication distances , yet there is no difference in general quality of life or patient-reported community-based walking .
BACKGROUND Supervised exercise ( SE ) is widely accepted as an effective therapy for intermittent claudication ( IC ) , but its use is limited by cost .
Unsupervised exercise ( UE ) represents a less costly alternative .
We assessed the comparative effectiveness of SE vs UE in patients with IC .
The peripheral artery questionnaire: a new disease-specific health status measure for patients with peripheral arterial disease.
BACKGROUND The most common indication for treating patients with peripheral arterial disease is to improve their health status : their symptoms , function , and quality of life . Quantifying health status requires a valid , reproducible , and sensitive disease-specific measure . The Peripheral Artery Question naire ( PAQ ) is a 20-item question naire developed to meet this need by quantifying patients ' physical limitations , symptoms , social function , treatment satisfaction , and quality of life . METHODS Psychometric and clinical properties of the PAQ were evaluated in a prospect i ve cohort study of 44 patients undergoing elective percutaneous peripheral revascularization .  To establish reproducibility , 2 assessment s were performed 2 weeks apart and before revascularization . The change in scores before and 6 weeks after revascularization were used to determine the instruments ' responsiveness and were compared with the Short Form-36 and the Walking Impairment Question naire . A series of cross-sectional analyses were performed to establish the construct validity of the PAQ . RESULTS The 7 domains of the PAQ were internally reliable , with Cronbach alpha = 0.80 to 0.94 . The test-retest reliability analyses revealed insignificant mean changes of 0.6 to 2.3 points ( P = not significant for all ) . Conversely , the change after revascularization ranged from 13.7 to 41.9 points ( P < or = .001 for all ) , reflecting substantial sensitivity of the PAQ to clinical improvement . The PAQ Summary Scale was the most sensitive of all scales tested . Construct validity was established by demonstrating correlations with other measures of patient health status . CONCLUSIONS The PAQ is a valid , reliable , and responsive disease-specific measure for patients with peripheral arterial disease . It may prove to be a useful end point in clinical trials and a potential aid in disease management
In claudication patients , SE is more effective than UE at improving maximal walking and claudication distances , yet there is no difference in general quality of life or patient-reported community-based walking .
BACKGROUND Supervised exercise ( SE ) is widely accepted as an effective therapy for intermittent claudication ( IC ) , but its use is limited by cost .
Unsupervised exercise ( UE ) represents a less costly alternative .
We assessed the comparative effectiveness of SE vs UE in patients with IC .