A NON-İNVASİVE METHOD TO DİAGNOSİS AND FOLLOW UP THE TREATMENT OF RAYNAUD'S SYNDROME; OPTİCAL ARTERY PRESSURE

Hakan Guven^{1, *}, Temmuz Taner²

¹Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Heart an Arrythmia Hospital/ Turkey - ²Department of Cardiovasculary Surgery, Bursa City Hospital/Turkey

Background: Raynaud's Syndrome (RS) is a common vascular disorder characterized by recurrent transient vasospasm of the fingers and toes when exposed to cold or emotional stress. Raynaud's attacks are characterized by paroxysmal white-blue-red or just white and blue discoloration of the fingers and toes. Nail capillaroscopy and Doppler USG have mostly used noninvasively procedures for diagnosis. However, these give results depending on the person, the environment, and the quality of the device. MR angiography and DSA are recommended among the invasive methods, but they are not widely used because they require serious equipment, experienced personnel, and cost. Optical Artery Pressure (O-AP) is a noninvasive and low-cost method used in the evaluation of vascular function. The Reflection Index is one of the O-AP data that provides information about flow at the microvascular level. Nifedipine has been used most in its treatment. The aim of this study is to evaluate the possible usefulness of noninvasive and low-cost Optical Arterial Pressure (O-AP) measurements in the diagnosis and follow-up of Raynaud's Syndrome.

Material and method: 72 patients with a clinical diagnosis of Raynaud were evaluated with O-PA and the diagnosis was confirmed. The patients stayed in a room with a normal room temperature (23-24 0C) for 15 minutes or longer before the examination. Nifedipine 10 mg twice daily was given to each patient for 6 months. Medical treatment effects were assessed by O-AP and Raynaud Status Score (RCS) at 1, 3, and 6 months.

Results: Both RCS and RI initial measurements showed statistically significant improvement compared to measurements in other periods (p<0.05).

Conclusion: We think that O-AP and RI should be used more widely as a method that provides useful, low-cost, and objective data in the diagnosis and treatment of peripheral microvascular diseases such as Raynaud's Syndrome.