Abstract
Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI) is not only detrimental to patients’ Quality of Life (QoL) but also places a considerable burden on public health resources. Ultrasound guided foam sclerotherapy (USFS) is a good treatment option, but its effect on patients’ QOL is still unclear. This article presents the results from the first 27 patients in a prospective, longitudinal, non-controlled study for evaluation of the clinical and QOL impact of USFS treatment for CEAP C4 to C6 grade CVI with contraindications for open surgery. Clinical symptoms were measured with the Venous Clinical Severity Score (VCSS) and QOL by the Assessment of Burden Chronic Disease - Venous questionnaire (ABC-V). We observed 22.2% reductions in VCSS (p<0.001) in the first week after the procedure, and a 37.8% reduction in ABC-V scores (p=0.03) over the first 3 months.
Highlights
Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) is associated with histological and structural changes to the capillary and lymphatic microcirculation, causing multiple physiological disorders, such as capillary extravasation, sequestration of erythrocytes and leukocytes, thrombocytosis, and inflammation of local tissues
Promising results are being reported with alternative methods, including ultrasound guided foam sclerotherapy (USFS), considering the low cost and significant improvements in clinical signs and symptoms of CVI among patients with CEAP C5 and C6, those with contraindications against conventional surgery
The objective of the present study is to present the initial results of an evaluation of the impact of USFS on clinical manifestations and quality of life (QoL) among patients with advanced CVI
Summary
Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) is associated with histological and structural changes to the capillary and lymphatic microcirculation, causing multiple physiological disorders, such as capillary extravasation, sequestration of erythrocytes and leukocytes, thrombocytosis, and inflammation of local tissues. Chronic venous ulcers affect millions of people worldwide, constituting a significant cause of reduced quality of life (QoL) and placing a considerable burden on healthcare resources.[4,5,6,7]. Promising results are being reported with alternative methods, including ultrasound guided foam sclerotherapy (USFS), considering the low cost and significant improvements in clinical signs and symptoms of CVI among patients with CEAP C5 and C6, those with contraindications against conventional surgery. Despite the progress with sclerosants for treatment of more advanced grades of CVI, there are still few studies that demonstrate its true impact on patients’ QoL.[4,5,6,7,8]
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