Exercise-based functional recovery from severe upper extremity arterial disease due to bilateral subclavian artery obstruction in a person with giant cell arteritis

Fabio Manfredini; Gladiol Zenunaj; Luca Traina; Vincenzo Gasbarro; Nicola Lamberti

doi:10.1016/j.jvscit.2023.101179

Exercise-based functional recovery from severe upper extremity arterial disease due to bilateral subclavian artery obstruction in a person with giant cell arteritis

J Vasc Surg Cases Innov Tech. 2023 Apr 7;9(2):101179. doi: 10.1016/j.jvscit.2023.101179. eCollection 2023 Jun.

Authors

Fabio Manfredini^{1

2}, Gladiol Zenunaj³, Luca Traina³, Vincenzo Gasbarro^{3

4}, Nicola Lamberti¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
² Unit of Rehabilitation Medicine, University Hospital of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
³ Unit of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, University Hospital of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
⁴ Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.

Abstract

We report the case of a 71-year-old woman diagnosed with giant cell arteritis with bilateral subclavian and axillary obstruction and severe arm claudication that occurred 3 months earlier and was non-regressed after corticosteroids. Before possible revascularization, the patient was initiated to a personalized home-based graded exercise program including walking, hand-bike pedaling, and muscle strength training. During the 9 months of treatment, the patient progressively improved radial pressure values (10 to 85 mmHg), hand temperature values by infrared-thermography (+2.1 °C), arm endurance, and forearm muscle oxygenation by near-infrared spectroscopy. Home-based graded exercise proved to be a noninvasive option for upper limb claudication.

Keywords: Claudication; Exercise; Near-infrared spectroscopy; Rehabilitation; Thermography; Upper extremity arterial disease.

Publication types

Case Reports