Clinical characteristics of Thai chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) patients

Objective: To study the demographic and clinical presentations as assessed by Clinical Severity Score (VCSS) and Venous Disability Score (VDS) in Thai Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI) patients. Material and Method: Retrospective review of prospectively collected data. Results: There were 78 CVI patients (102 legs) with the mean age of 59.6 years and 42% spending more than 75% of working hours upright. The proportional of C4, 5 and 6 were 24.4%, 9.0% and 66.7%. The mean BMI was 26.9. Seven legs (6.9%) had prior history of DVT. In 90 legs with no previous operation, the mean VCSS and VDS were 9.8 and 0.9 respectively. The mean VCSS for C4, C5 and C5 were 7.1,7.0 and 12.1. Pain was perceived in 50% and associated with venous eczema. The combined superficial and deep vein reflux were found in 57.8%. Overall, the prevalence of superficial and deep vein reflux was 80.0% and 63.3%. The venous pulsatile arterial wave was found in 3.3%. The visible varicose veins were found in only 50.0% and tended to be mild. Conclusion: The symptoms are mild. Despite low prior DVT rate, the prevalence of deep vein reflux is high and commonly combined with superficial vein reflux. Reflux commonly located below the knee, adjacent to the ulcers. Visible varicose are infrequent but most of those veins are associated with reflux.