A case study nested in a cohort of patients with HIV / AIDS at Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Mexico, with a cohort of 1500 patients , a sample size of 206 individuals was calculated. Data collection was performed in a prospective cross shape.
During the interview, written informed consent for inclusion in the study, along with a standard query of vascular surgery in which the patient's history as well as cardiovascular risk factors. Also, a vascular physical examination including palpation of pulses in upper and lower extremities (brachial, radial, ulnar, femoral, popliteal, posterior tibial and dorsalis pedis), femoral murmurs search and determining ankle / brachial indexes with a standardized method.
In determining the ABI was counted with a Doppler ultrasound 8 mHz, transducer gel and a sleeve for manual measurement of blood pressure, 20% longer than the largest diameter of the arm circumference.
If the patient is diagnosed with, symptomatic or asymptomatic arterial insufficiency, ABI measurements were performed at rest and effort, plus pressure index finger-arm or plethysmography. Patients with altered rates were followed in vascular surgery care.
The data were recorded in a single database unique protected by password. The results were analyzed using the statistical program STATA v 9.0.
