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There are many other causes of leg pain – the symptoms bulleted above are the key to diagnosis.
If the patient has palpable distal pulses / ABPI greater than 0.8, consider alternative diagnoses e.g., musculoskeletal / spinal stenosis etc.
Leg weakness or numbness are not features of intermittent claudication. Weakness or heaviness on walking, with symptoms localised to a muscle group can be features of spinal pain. These symptoms are sometimes relieved by leaning forward.
Same Day Admission
Urgent referral to Vascular Surgeon
The mainstay of treatment for IC is managing risk factors in primary care.
Patients with mild symptoms / few limitations in lifestyle and ABPI 0.5-0.8
Assess Cardio-Vascular Risk and maximise tolerated treatment, including:
Monitor progress e.g., for 4 – 6 months
Please Note
a) Smoking Cessation
There is a strong expectation that the patient will have made all efforts to stop smoking prior to referral.
Patients who smoke, without evidence of critical limb ischaemia (see Red Flags), have a significantly higher risk of complications from surgical intervention. In those patients’, secondary care surgical interventions are unlikely to be offered, as surgical risks nearly always outweigh the benefits. Risk factor modification, especially smoking cessation, is the mainstay of treatment.
b) A low ABPI alone is NOT an indication for referral: referral should be based on the severity of symptoms and disability.
Same Day Admission
Urgent Referral Criteria
Routine Referral Criteria
This guideline has been signed off on behalf of NHS Devon.
Publication date: June 2015
Updated: November 2024