No abstract

Therapeutic study, Level IV (case series).

Preliminary observations of rapid relief of ischemic rest pain following application of a foot impulse compression device prompted this study to quantify its immediate effects.Blood flow was calculated by means of a duplex ultrasound imager interfaced with a Doppler spectrum analyzer.Twelve normal subjects and 10 patients with peripheral vascular disease (mean Doppler ankle/brachial systolic pressure index = 0.62 (range 0.33-0.74) were studied. Mean resting blood flow ( SD) was not significantly different in the two groups: 55.6 24.0 in normal subjects and 48.3 29.8 in the arteriopaths (p = > 0.1). During five minutes of pump application in a 45-degree foot-down position, mean popliteal blood flow increased by 93% in normal subjects (p < 0.0001) and 84 % in peripheral vascular patients (p < 0.03); there was no change in the opposite limb. In 5 normal subjects a "placebo" device produced no significant change in flow (p >0.

The effect on gut motility of a single subcutaneous injection of 50 μg of the long-acting somatostatin analogue, SMS 201–995, was investigated in 8 normal volunteers who took a drink containing ^99mTc and lactulose with a mixed meal. The rate of gastric emptying was assessed by disappearance of the isotope from the stomach area as measured by a gamma camera, and mouth-to-caecum transit time (MCTT) was measured by the appearance of hydrogen in the breath. Gastric emptying was accelerated, with a significant reduction of the time taken to 50% isotope disappearance (37.2 ± 3.3 min during control study vs 23.3 ± 3.4 min after SMS injection; p < 0.01). In contrast, MCTT was prolonged from 57.3 ± 9.4 min (control) to 203.6 ± 14.7 min after SMS (p < 0.001).