INTEREST OF THE ALLEN TEST FOR THE DIAGNO SIS OF DISTAL ARTERIOPATHY IN PATIENTS WITH RAYNAUD PHENOMENON - A PROSPECTIVE AND SERIAL STUDY OF 576 PATIENTS

From a prospective study concerning 576 patients with Raynaud's phenom enon, the authors studied the results of Allen's clinical test and the ir etiologic significance. These results were compared to those obtain ed by the instrumental technique using the Doppler probe to locate and compress radial and ulnar arteries and digital plethysmography to mea sure the effects of this compression. This instrumental technique make s it possible to investigate hand vascularization when Allen's clinica l test is non interpretable or impossible which corresponds to 30 % pa tients. A pathological Allen's test, whether it be clinical or instrum ental, rather favors a Raynaud's syndrome (p < 10(-4)). The absence of ulnar vascularization was the abnormality most often noted and was ra ther found in severe Raynaud's phenomena, the sclerodermatous particul arly (p < 10(-4))