ArticleJournal of vascular surgery. Venous and lymphatic disorders2026
A novel infrared fluorescence method to identify regions of superficial microvenous reflux in patients with chronic venous disease.
Article in Journal of vascular surgery. Venous and lymphatic disorders, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveReflux within the superficial microvenous network may play a critical role in the development of skin changes associated with chronic venous insufficiency. This study aimed to extend previous ex vivo observations to determine the in vivo utility of near infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging to assess superficial venous reflux in the leg.
methodsA total of 28 limbs were examined in 17 participants. These included limbs with (CEAP C2, n = 6; C3, n = 1; and C4, n = 15) and without (CEAP C0, n = 6) venous disease. Indocyanine green (5 mL at 0.1 mg/mL) was infused via an (antegrade) cannula in the distal great saphenous vein and the medial leg imaged using NIRF. Venous reflux was assessed using the Valsalva maneuver, with or without superficial outflow obstruction (thigh cuff inflated to 50 mmHg).
resultsConsistent with our previous ex vivo study, NIRF imaging visualized a wide range of different microvenous reflux patterns in vivo. These included focal and diffuse regions of fluorescence within the skin, the extent of which appeared to be associated with venous disease (CEAP C classification) severity. The observed reflux patterns also appeared to be functional correlates of perforator vein or saphenofemoral junctional incompetence.
conclusionsThis preliminary in vivo study provides proof-of-principle observations suggesting a potential novel method for investigating microvenous reflux in superficial venous disease. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This study reports the first in vivo use of near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging with indocyanine green to assess superficial microvenous reflux within intact limbs. This preliminary data suggests that the extent and distribution of skin fluorescence may be associated with venous disease severity (CEAP Clinical classification). It also provides potential mechanistic insight, identifying reflux patterns that appear to be functional correlates of venous incompetence. This study suggests that NIRF imaging could provide a novel tool for investigating microvenous contributions to chronic venous disease and its skin manifestations.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.