Abnormalities of the peripheral circulation in patients with chronic renal failure

Resting forearm venous tone and forearm blood flow at rest and following ischaemia were measured in patients with chronic renal failure and compared with normal control subjects and patients with anaemia of non-renal origin. Patients with renal failure were venoconstricted compared to the normal controls. Venous tone in the anaemic patients with normal renal function was intermediate between the two other groups. Resting forearm blood flow was higher in the patients with renal failure compared to the normal controls but it was not significantly different from the patients with anaemia. Forearm blood flow immediately after 10 min of forearm ischaemia was lower in the patients with renal failure compared with the control subjects. It was highest in the patients with anaemia. These results suggest important abnormalities in the control of peripheral vascular tone in patients with chronic renal failure.