Peripheral skin temperature and microcirculatory reactivity during pregnancy. A study with thermography

The aim of the study was to compare gradients of skin surface temperature on the arm and hand and to evaluate differences in the skin microcirculation reactivity between pregnant and non-pregnant women. We used the prototype of a highly sensitive thermograph system for the measurements. Eight healthy, non-pregnant women (mean age 27.9 years) and eleven pregnant women in the 14th-40th gestational week with normal pregnancies (mean age 28.7 years) were examined. Compared with the control collective, there were the following differences found in the pregnant group: --Skin temperature (ST) difference from the hand to the forearm was 2.6 +/- 0.8 degrees C instead of 0.6 +/- 1.2 degrees C (p less than or equal to 0.01). --There was a higher ST in the hand (p less than or equal to 0.01), but not in the proximal forearm. --An increase of the ST in the hand and the occurrence of a temperature difference compared with the forearm could be seen even in the early stages of pregnancy. --The skin temperature decrease was less marked in pregnant than in non-pregnant women after application of a cold stimulus (p less than or equal to 0.01) and after venous occlusion (not significant). The results obtained by telethermography indicate that during pregnancy there is a greater increase in the arteriovenous shunt blood flow (represented especially in the skin of the acral regions) than in capillary perfusion (represented mainly in the skin of the trunk and proximal extremities).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)