[Non-invasive measurement of skin oxygenation in chronic ulcers of the lower extremities].

Transcutaneous pO2 measurement by polarography is a non-invasive method already used in internal medicine and in angiology. It has been employed in patients suffering from chronic lower limb ulcerations of various origins. Marked hypoxia was found in venous ulcers without arterial occlusive disease (tc pO2 = 19.6 +/- 16.9 mm Hg; mean value +/- 1 SD). TcpO2 was in the normal range in patients suffering from cryoglobulinemia (68.5 +/- 10.5 mm Hg), but very low in hypertensive ulcers (0.7 +/- 0.9 mm Hg) and in patients suffering from arterial occlusive disease (8.9 +/- 11.8 mm Hg). Thus, local hypoxia constitutes an important feature of many kinds of ulcers even when venous disease is the primary cause.