[The evaluation of blood perfusion of lower extremities in patients with NIDDM by 133Xe muscle clearance test: a preliminary report].

In this study, we collected twenty NIDDM patients with impaired sensation and clinically suspected angiopathy over both lower extremities. All the patients underwent testing by means of the ultrasonic Doppler technique and were separated into two groups, group 1 with impaired blood flow, and group 2 with no significant impairment of blood flow. Ten normal persons were also included in this study (group 3). The results of the 133Xe muscle clearance test showed that the Q value of group 1 was 0.85 +/- 0.24 [mean +/- SE, ml (100g tissue min-1)], 1.05 +/- 0.31 in group 2 and 1.78 +/- 0.23 in group 3 of normal controls. After statistical analysis, there were significant differences in groups 1 and 2 relative to group 3 (p < 0.05), respectively. This preliminary result indicates that the 133Xe muscle clearance test may be an effective and convenient method to evaluate angiopathy of lower extremities in patients with NIDDM.