EVALUATION OF IFENPRODIL EFFICACY ON EXERCISE-INDUCED TISSUE ISCHEMIAIN STAGE-II ARTERIOPATHY BY MEASUREMENT OF TRANSCUTANEOUS OXYGEN-TENSION DURING A STANDARD TREADMILL TEST - DOUBLE-BLIND-STUDY OF INJECTABLE IFENPRODIL VERSUS PLACEBO

Measurement of transcutaneous oxygen tension (TcPO2) is a noninvasive and easily reproducible method for objectifying and quantifying exerci se ischemia in patients with stage II occlusive arterial disease. This technique is also used at rest to evaluate the therapeutic effect of vasoactive treatments. To objectively assess the effectiveness of a va soactive treatment on the conditions of tissue perfusion, a randomized double-blind study of ifenprodil tartrate versus placebo was performe d in 20 patients, whose TcPO2 was continuously measured while they wal ked on a treadmill. Patients treated with ifenprodil improved signific antly as compared with the placebo group, for both the half-hypoxia ar ea, representing the overall evolution of the tissue ischemia (+34.9% and -16.0%, respectively, p = 0.01), and the half-hypoxia recovery tim e, estimating the postexercise recovery time (+30.2% and -3.6%, respec tively, p < 0.05). This study confirms that the continuous measurement of TcPO2 during the recovery phase after exercise represents an objec tive method for the evaluation and follow-up of patients with stage II intermittent claudication. The results enabled the objective assessme nt of ifenprodil efficacy on the evolution of tissue hypoxia.