Since specificity of Buerger’s disease is characterized by peripheral ischemia of an inflammatory nature and with a self-limiting course, diagnostic criteria should be discussed from clinical of view.

Several different criteria have been proposed for the diagnosis of thromboangiitis obliterans:

Diagnostic Criteria of Shionoya:

• Smoking history;

• Onset before the age of 50 years;

• Infrapopliteal arterial occlusions;

• Either arm involvement or phlebitis migrans;

• Absence of atherosclerotic risk factors other than smoking.

Diagnostic Criteria of Olin

• Age younger than 45 years

• Current or recent history of tobacco use

• Presence of distal extremity ischemia indicated by claudication, pain at rest, ischemic ulcers or gangrenes, and documented by non-invasive vascular testing;

• Exclusion of autoimmune diseases, hypercoagulable states and diabetes mellitus;

• Exclusion of a proximal source of embolization by echocardiography and arteriography;

• Consistent arteriographic findings in the clinically involved and noninvolved limbs

 

References:

1. Olin JW. Thromboangiitis obliterans (Buerger's disease). N Engl J Med. 2000 Sep 21;343(12):864-9. [Medline]

2. Shionoya S. Diagnostic criteria of Buerger's disease. Int J Cardiol. 1998 Oct 1;66 Suppl 1:S243-5. [Medline]