Review of the plethysmographic methods for studying hemodynamic disorders in patients with chronic lower extremites venous diseases

Abstract

Plethysmography as a method for studying peripheral circulatory system was first proposed by wletney in 1953. In Russia, the first most significant research studies on the feasibility of plethysmography in studying peripheral blood flow and circulatory physiology taken together were conducted at the St. Petersburg Pavlov Institute of Physiology in 1961. From this time onwards, the possibilities of plethysmography as a non-invasive objective method for the diagnosis of hemodynamic disorders, particularly in arterial pathology, were studied intensively. These parameters were not determined for the venous blood flow, but in 1980s the authors were able to establish plethysmographic criteria not only for various forms of venous pathology, but also for degrees of chronic venous insufficiency using a device significantly improved by V.N. Pavlov and V.E. Maslov.The purpose of this publication is to analyze the literature data on the use of aerial plethysmography and photoplethysmography in the study of hemodynamic disorders in patients with chronic diseases of the veins of the lower extremities. At present, in order to assess the venous blood flow in condition of air plethysmography, indicators of functional venous volume (VV), maximum venous outflow (MVO), venous filling index (VFI), evacuation volume (EV) and residual volume (RV), as well as an integral indicator – residual volume fraction (RVF) are determined in the world. A venous reflux test (VRT) is performed as part of photoplethysmography. The data published today show the high statistical reliability of the comparative analysis and the great scientific significance of the research. According to many foreign authors the use of plethysmographic methods of diagnosis allow to assess violations of venous blood flow in patients with chronic venous diseases of various clinical classes according to CEAP more precisely and to give a global assessment of disorders of the venous outflow from thrombotic occlusion of segmental to hypervolemia in patients with varicose veins in different forms of manifestations of chronic venous insufficiency. The analysis of the literature data allows to make a conclusion about the prospects of further research using these non-invasive methods of evaluation of venous blood flow in the lower extremities.