[The use of thermography in the clinical evaluation of microcirculation]

A method of thermography of the hands including the cold test was employed to evaluate peripheral microcirculation in 116 patients (34 with atherosclerosis of the vessels of different sites, 38 with chronic diffuse liver diseases and 38 with chronic pancreatitis). In 29 patients with hepatocirrhosis and chronic pancreatitis microcirculation was also studied by conjunctival biomicroscopy. Microcirculatory disturbances by the method of thermography of the hands, particularly using the cold test, were revealed in a considerable number of cases of primary vascular pathology as well as in chronic liver and pancreatic diseases. Parallelism in the recognition of microcirculatory disturbances by the methods of thermography and conjunctival biomicroscopy was noted. The method of thermography of the hands permitted the evaluation of reactivity of the vessels of the microcirculatory bed. Taking into account its sufficient informative value, noninvasiveness, simplicity and an opportunity of dynamic observations it can be recommended for a wider clinical use to study microcirculatory disturbances.