Echocardiography in acute limb ischaemia.

In a retrospective study carried out over a 5-year period, 88 patients with acute limb ischaemia underwent echocardiography. Of this group, 74 were thought to have an embolic cause of ischaemia on either operative or arteriographic findings. Two-dimensional echocardiography detected a cardiac source in 30 patients (sensitivity 41%, specificity 100%). Clinical examination on admission correctly indicated an embolic source in 36 patients (sensitivity 49%, specificity 36%). The combination of echocardiography and clinical examination detected an embolic source in 60 of 74 (81%) patients. In this study echocardiography complemented clinical examination in the diagnosis of a cardiac source of acute limb ischaemia.