Author: Dylan Luyten, MD

Educational Pearls:

• Symptoms of acute limb ischemia are the 5 P's: Pulselessness, pain, pallor, paresthesias, and poikilothermia
• Sudden onset of non-traumatic extremity pain should raise concern for this diagnosis
• Obtaining an ankle brachial index (ABI) can help confirm the diagnosis
• Consultation with vascular surgery should be immediately after the clinical diagnosis and before any further delays to obtain further imaging

References:

Santistevan JR. Acute Limb Ischemia: An Emergency Medicine Approach. Emerg Med Clin North Am. 2017 Nov;35(4):889-909. doi: 10.1016/j.emc.2017.07.006. Epub 2017 Aug 23. Review. PubMed PMID: 28987435.

Summarized by Travis Barlock, MS4 | Edited by Erik Verzemnieks, MD