2003 Volume 14 Issue 5 Pages 361-366
Purpose: The correlation between air plethysmography (APG) and CEAP classification in patients with varicose veins is not well defined. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness and problems of the CEAP classification from the standpoint of venous function determined with APG.
Subjects and Methods: From January 2002 to December at Hiroshima Teishin Hospital, 691 extremities in 470 patients with varicose veins were studied with air plethysmography. They were classified as follows: 36 limbs were in C0-1 category, 581 limbs in C2, 12 limbs in C3, 53 limbs in C4, 4 limbs in C5, and 5 limbs in C6.
Results: The venous filling indices(VFI) were 1.82±0.99ml/sec in C0-1 group, 4.31±2.84ml/sec in C2, 3.22±1.96ml/sec in C3, 6.22±3.27 ml/sec in C4, 9.43±6.73 ml/sec in C5, and 9.59±4.2ml/sec in C6.
Conclusions: The VFI had significant correlations with the severity of the clinical classification, although the VFI of the C3 cases were not higher than those of the C2 cases because of the difficulty with the definition of the term “edema”. We noticed that in some cases caused by the reflux of short saphenous veins or incompetent perforating veins below the knee or some cases with severe lipodermatosclerosis, the VFI had little correlation with the clinical classification.
