Variability of different patterns of skin oscillatory flux in healthy controls and patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease.

Variability of patterns of laser Doppler flux motion was analysed at 5 different sites at the foot of 12 healthy controls and 24 patients with different degrees of ischemia due to peripheral arterial occlusive disease. Patterns were evaluated by means of the frequency histogram method. Three main flux motion components were detected at mean frequencies of 3.5 +/- 1.1 min-1 (low frequency waves, LF), 17.2 +/- 2.7 min-1 (high frequency waves, HF) and at 62.6 +/- 8.5 min-1 (pulsatile waves, PF). The characteristic pattern in normals consisted of LF and PF waves. In severe ischemia oscillatory flux was predominantly characterized by the combination of LF and HF waves and loss of pulsatile flux, or by the absence of any flux motion. Claudicants covered the entire spectrum of the flux motion patterns. In controls spatial variations were mainly due to the occasional presence of HF waves at one of the 5 sites. With increasing ischemia spatial variability of HF waves decreased due to more homogeneous presence. Loss of pulsatile flux was inhomogeneous in claudicants but almost complete in severe ischemia. Whereas LF waves were almost always observed at all sites of controls and claudicants there was considerable spatial variability in severe ischemia due to inhomogeneous loss of LF waves. Prevalence of the distinct flux motion patterns was well reproducible in controls and patients. Patterns showed a marked day to day variability when sites of measurement were compared.