Dynamics of cutaneous laser Doppler flux with concentration of moving blood cells and blood cell velocity in legs with venous ulcers and in healthy legs.

Abstract

Laser Doppler flux (LDF) is a product of the concentration of moving blood cells (CMBC) and the blood cell velocity (BCV). In an attempt to obtain more information about the cutaneous microcirculation in legs with venous ulcers and in healthy legs, the dynamics of the curves of the LDF, the CMBC, and the BCV were analyzed in 8 patients with venous leg ulcers and in 10 subjects with healthy legs. The curves of the CMBC and of the BCV were found to be in opposite phases both in the ulcerous legs and in the healthy legs. The maximal amplitude of the curves of the LDF and of the CMBC was greater in the legs with ulcers than in the healthy legs (p = 0.021 and p = 0.0085, respectively). The finding that the curves of the CMBC and the BCV were in opposite phase can be interpreted to reflect the capillary blood flow by fits and starts both in legs with venous ulcers and in healthy legs. The greater amplitude of the LDF and the CMBC in legs with venous ulcers reflects the blood flow in anatomically altered capillaries in those legs. It is useful to record the curves of the CMBC and the BCV together with the LDF because this gives additional information about the microcirculation of the skin.