A thermal vascular test for distinguishing between patients with Raynaud'sphenomenon and healthy controls

This study tested the reliability and validity of a diagnostic thermal vasc ular test (TVT) for patients with Raynaud's Phenomenon (:RP). The TVT exami ned digital blood pressure responses to combined cooling and occlusion and was developed as part of the Raynaud's Treatment Study, a multicenter clini cal trial comparing the efficacy of biofeedback and pharmacological treatme nt. A computerized system permitted efficient, accurate, and uniform testin g at different geographical sites. A comparison of 199 patients with RP and 52 healthy controls is reported. The TVT showed a sensitivity of 79% and a specificity of 88%. Test-retest reliability was acceptable (r = .80). Addi tion of a psychological challenge failed to improve the discrimination betw een patients with RP and controls. The TVT separated patients with RP and c ontrols as well as or better than existing tests and did so with enhanced e ase of operation.