A statistical study of the factors that increase the risk of the development of leg complications related to chronic venous insufficiency.

Chronic venous insufficiency is a complex vascular disease that deals with venous circulation in the lower legs. The primary focus of this study was to find a way to diagnose ulcer development before its formation, and to find which aspect of a person's health could increase the potential for leg ulcer development. Skin temperatures and tissue perfusions were measured at one spot above the medial ankle area of both lower legs of fifty subjects. All fifty subjects were years of age or older with chronic venous insufficiency. In addition to the temperature and tissue perfusion measurements, data on the subject's previous illnesses, medications, and medical histories were taken. Subjects came in for three 90 minutes sessions in one-week intervals. A statistical analysis between the temperatures and each of the other factors was made. No single factor showed a high correlation with higher ankle temperature. However, a combination of the ten highest factors did show a correlation with higher ankle temperature. This indicates that the development of leg ulcers may be due to a combination of several different factors.