CUTANEOUS BLOOD-FLOW IN LEGS WITH SEVERE CHRONIC VENOUS INSUFFICIENCYRECORDED BEFORE AND AFTER A SINGLE TREATMENT USING INTERMITTENT PNEUMATIC COMPRESSION

Objective: To investigate the skin laser Doppler flux (LDF) in legs wi th severe chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). Design: Comparison of th e legs with severe CVI with the healthy legs and with the patients' co ntralateral legs. Setting: Department of Dermatology, University of Tu rku, Turku, Finland. Patients and control subjects: Ten patients and e ight age-matched subjects with healthy legs. Interventions: A single t reatment using intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) of 45 min dura tion. Main outcome measures: Laser Doppler flowmetry with the subjects in a recumbent and a sitting position. Results: The LDF values were h igher for the legs with severe CVI than for the legs of healthy subjec ts (p<0.001 in a recumbent and p<0.01 in a sitting position). A single IPC increased the LDF in a recumbent position in the patients' legs w ith severe CVI (p=0.019) but had no significant effect on the LDF valu e in the sitting position. The venoarteriolar response was significant ly better in the legs with severe CVI than in the legs of healthy subj ects (p<0.05). Conclusions: The LDF is increased in legs with severe C VI and a single IPC further increases it in a recumbent position. The venoarteriolar response is not impaired in legs with severe CVI.