Prevalence of Congenitally Absent Pedal Pulses

PALPATION of the pedal pulses is a part of the physical examination for evaluation of the peripheral circulation. To interpret the findings of this examination it is necessary to know the normal occurrence of both the dorsalis pedis and the posterior tibial pulses. Previous studies on the frequency of absent pedal pulses may be criticized on the basis that the sample was numerically small or that the age distribution was inappropriate. We have surveyed 1000 infants and children to establish the prevalence of congenitally absent pedal pulses.MethodOne thousand children between the ages of one and 10, who were . . .