Acute Peripheral Arterial Disease

Acute limb ischemia (ALI) is a pathological condition resulting from a sudden blood interruption (or, at least, from an important reduction in flow) limiting tissues’ survival. ALI is always a serious event requiring immediate diagnosis and treatment, also considering the high associated amputation risk. The most frequent causes of acute limb ischemia are embolism, thrombosis, and trauma. Clinical findings are grouped together in a series mnemonic note as “6P of Pratt”: pain, pallor, pulselessness, poikilothermia, paresthesia, and paralysis. Those in concert with duplex ultrasound assume a primary and crucial role in diagnostic and preoperative evaluation of ALI patients. Treatment for ALI largely depends on the clinical presentation according to Rutherford’s classification. When indication for surgery is posed, several open, endovascular, and hybrid procedures are developed to restore blood flow in acute patients.