COLOUR DOPPLER AND ITS PATTERNS IN LOWER LIMB VENOUS INSUFFICIENCY: A DESCRIPTIVE PROSPECTIVE STUDY

Abstract

A hospital based prospective descriptive study was done to describe the patterns of chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) using Colour Doppler and Duplex scan. Duplex ultrasonography scanning was done with clinical examination of 250 patients referred with possible chronic venous insufficiency. Of the 378 limbs, 302 (80%) limbs showed presence of varicose veins. Pain (64%) was the most common clinical finding. For the skin changes in lower limbs, pigmentation (87%) was the most common. The most common colour Doppler findings in the lower limbs were saphenofemoral incompetence (49%) and perforating vein incompetence (28%).  The study concludes that duplex sonography is an integral part of the modern evaluation and management of patients with venous insufficiency. Precise anatomic and flow mapping is required prior to planning treatment in all patients with varicose veins.