A hospital based study on etiology and clinical features of varicose veins

Abstract

Background: Varicose vein are abnormally dilated, tortuous, elongated veins of lower limbs which have permanently lost their valvular efficiency. The main objectives of our study was to study etiological profile (Age, sex, occupation) and different modalities utilized in our institute and to assess and study final outcome in patients included in our study.Methodology: It was a prospective study; fifty cases of varicose veins were attending outpatient Department and admitted in the Surgical Department of Narayana Medical college and & Hospital from December 2019 to June 2021.Results: In the present study, fifty cases of varicose veins treated in our institute form the basis of this study. The average age of the patients was 41.76 years. The youngest patient was of 21 years and the oldest was 68 years of age. Varicose veins were common in males; the male to female ratio was 7:3. The number of patients who were involved in occupations requiring prolonged hours of standing was 38 (76%). The commonest presentation was dilated veins. The common associated symptoms were itching and pigmentation in 30 patients (64%) and ulceration in 13 patients (26%). 5 patients had bilateral varicose veins and the remaining 45 had only one limb affected. The limb commonly affected was left lower extremity in 23 cases (46%). Conclusion: The database of our retrospective study regarding age & sex incidence, clinicopathological features and therapeutic outcome was comparable to other studies in various literatures.