LOCAL INTRAVENOUS THERAPY IN CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY AND VASCULAR DISORDERS OF THE FOOT

Background, Chronic inflammatory and vascular disorders of the foot fr equently present 2 problems: slow improvement, resulting in long-term therapy, and episodes of critical complications that may seriously thr eaten the foot, Particularly in a foot with compromised perfusion, the systemic administration of therapeutic agents may be insufficient, Re trograde venous perfusion, RVP is a new approach that was recently emp loyed for treatment of diabetic neuropathic pedal ulcers, Materials an d methods, In this paper, RVP was utilized in 24 patients with diabeti c or non-diabetic foot disorders (infection, ulcers and critical pedal ischemia), Employed agents were infused according to predetermined re gimens and included: antibiotics, deproteinized hemodialysate and PGE( 1). Results, The target lesions were eliminated in 20 patients and imp roved in the others, Conclusions. The presented therapy proved to be a useful adjunct to conservative or surgical treatment in the studied d isorders, Its main impact was in shortening the duration of therapy an d overcoming critical complications threatening the foot.