The relationship between in vitro and in vivo venous compliance measurement.

Objective: To assess the relationship between in vitro and in vivo venous compliance measurement.

Design: Prospective, blind study.

Materials And Methods: Patients affected by primary varicose veins and classified in accord with the new CEAP criteria (C2-6/S, Ep, AS1-4/p17-18, PR) underwent blind venous compliance measurements using two different methods. 1) In vivo assessment of the compliance of the greater saphenous vein by duplex scanning, for diameter, and a needle transducer, for venous pressure measurements. 2) In vitro standard compliance assessment of the same vein segment after its excision.

Results: The compliance values obtained with the two methods showed a significant degree of correlation, which improved with increasing intravenous pressures.

Conclusions: In vivo compliance assessment of the saphenous vein was validated by the relationship with the standard in vitro measurement.