Efficacy of pressure gradient measurement using peripheral fractional flow reserve in common femoral artery: a case report

The severity of peripheral artery disease (PAD) is usually diagnosed by physiological assessments, such as the ankle brachial index (ABI) or peak systolic velocity (PSV) on ultrasonography. We examined peripheral fractional flow reserve (pFFR: distal mean pressure divided by proximal mean pressure) measured by a pressure wire and pressure gradient to diagnose PAD patients who do not have lowered ABI or high PSV on ultrasonography.

An 84-year-old woman with intermittent claudication in her left leg had severe calcification in the left common femoral artery (CFA) on angiography. The exercise-stress ABI of pre-endovascular therapy (EVT) was 1.05/0.98. In addition, the PSV of the left CFA on ultrasonography was 230 cm/s. However, the pFFR using papaverine and alprostadil in the left CFA was 0.86, which was a significant score. In addition, the systolic pressure gradient between the distal and proximal regions was >20 mmHg. We performed EVT for the lesion, and the pFFR improved to 0.96. The systolic pressure gradient was only 1 mmHg at the lesion.

Symptomatic PAD patients whose ABI or PSV on ultrasonography is insufficient for EVT could be diagnosed with ischaemia using a pressure gradient and pFFR.