Assessment of the patient's quality of life in the long-term postoperative period after reconstructions on lower extremity arteries.

The study accrued 28 male patients provided reconstruction for atherosclerotic lesion of lower extremity arteries. Their ages ranged from 36 to 69 years, with a mean of 57.73+/-8.75 years. Degree IIB ischemia according to the R. Fontaine classification modified by A. V. Pokrovsky was present in 10, degree III in 17 patients, and degree IV in one patient. The level end degree of lesion were assessed using contrast angiography and Doppler ultrasound. Before and after operation all the patients underwent measurements of the painless walking distance and regional systolic pressure on the shoulder and ankle as well as of the ankle/brachial pressure index. The quality of life was evaluated in all the patients with the aid of a MOS SF36 questionnaire before and 3 months after operation. The individual and typological personality properties were defined by the psychodiagnostic test (PDT). Operation was followed by a significant rise of the pressure index, painless walking index, and an improvement of the patient's quality of life according to the scales "physical function" and "physical pain". The correlation was established between the painless walking distance and indicators of the "physical function" scale (r=0.48, p<0.05) and "physical pain " (r=0.44, p>0.05) as well as between the ankle/brachial pressure index and general health status (r=0.58, p<0.02). The relationship was revealed between the change in the patient's quality of life after operation and individual-typological personality properties. The correlation coefficient between the scales of "neurotism" according to the PDT: and "physical function", "physical role" and "emotional role" according to the SF36 constituted -0.47, -0.54 and - -0.49 respectively (p<0.05) that between psychotism and the general health status was -0.49 (p<0.05), and that between mental instability and physical and emotional role -0.66 and -0,61 respectively (p<0.01).