Perfusion Fluorometry: A New Test for Chronic Venous Insufficiency

Although existing noninvasive and invasive techniques have the ability to diagnose venous insufficiency, results from perfusion fluorometry in ischemic legs stimulated us to use it in venous insufficiency. Fourteen individuals received 2 mg/kg diluted sodium fluorescein in the vein of the dorsum of the foot. A ratio of leg/arm fluorescein perfusion was devised. After eighteen minutes of infu sion, patients had a ratio of less than 0.65, whereas all the controls had values of 0.65 or greater. It seems that using perfusion fluorometry is a viable test for diagnosing venous insufficiency syndrome.