Extracellular Fluid Content in the Legs of Patients with Chronic Venous Disease.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to determine the factors that affect the extracellular fluid (ECF) content in the legs of patients with chronic venous disease (CVD). METHODS: Bioimpedance analysis and air plethysmography (APG) were performed in 79 patients with CVD who visited our clinic between September 2016 and March 2019. The normal right legs (N) of 14 healthy volunteers were also reviewed for comparison. The ratio of ECF resistance (Re) of the leg to that of the arm (ReL/ReA) was used to express the ECF content in the tested leg. The severity of CVD was expressed using the clinical, etiological, anatomical, and pathophysiological (CEAP) classification. RESULTS: The ReL/ReA decreased as the CEAP class increased (N median; 0.81 [range 0.66-0.95], C0-1 0.79 [0.60-0.98], C2 0.77 [0.56-1.08], C3 0.67 [0.57-0.85], C4 0.64 [0.44-0.89]). Older age, female sex, and CEAP class affected the ReL/ReA, but body mass index did not. The ReL/ReA did not correlate with the parameters that were derived from APG, including the venous filling index. CONCLUSIONS: We found that the ECF content in legs of patients with CVD might be primarily affected by patient-related factors and CEAP class, as opposed to venous hemodynamics.