Transcutaneous oxygen tension (TcPO2) measurement as a diagnostic tool in patients with peripheral vascular disease. 
Transcutaneous oxygen tension (TcPO2) was measured through Clark's electrode at the dorsum of the foot in 52 healthy controls whose ages ranged from twenty to sixty-five years (mean 45.05 +/- 14.09) and 36 nondiabetic patients with peripheral vascular disease (PVD) (5 stage I, 16 stage II, 4 stage III, 11 stage IV), under standardized conditions at rest and during recovery from limb ischemia obtained with pneumatic cuff compression for 3 minutes.  At rest the TcPO2 averaged 71.20 +/- 14.26 mm Hg (range 46-92) in the controls and 51.56 +/- 26.38 in the PVD patients (p less than .01).  A wide overlap was observed between the two groups and among the different stages of the disease, and consequently, the diagnostic value of TcPO2 at rest was limited (sensitivity equal to 32%).  During the recovery from ischemia the time constant (recovery half-time, T1/2) averaged 38.01 +/- 7.23 sec in the controls and 55.84 +/- 19.82 in the PVD patients (p less than .01).  The T1/2 added to the diagnostic value of the method, making it more sensitive (55%), especially for stage II patients.  The TcPO2 at rest was lower with increasing severity of the disease; both the TcPO2 at rest and the T1/2 correlated with the ankle-arm pressure index in the diseased limbs (r = .48 and -.41 respectively, p less than .001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)