Venoruton® vs Daflon®: Evaluation of effects on quality of life in chronic venous insufficiency

The aim of this independent study was to investigate differences in efficacy between oxerutins (Venoruton) and 500 mg micronized diosmin + hesperidin (D+H) (Daflon) in patients with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), evaluating venous-related quality of life (Ve-QOL). A first group of 90 patients with severe venous hypertension (CVI, ankle swelling) was randomized to treatment with oxerutins or D+H. The oxerutins group received oral oxerutins (2 g/day); the D+H group received 3 (500 mg) tablets daily every 8 hours for 8 weeks. A second group of 122 comparable patients was included in a registry following the same study format. The 2 treatments were administered with the same methods and procedures. Clinical conditions were comparable. All patients completing 8 weeks of treatment were included in a registry. Specialists or general practitioners included patients when they considered that clinical conditions were compatible with treatment indications using 1 of the 2 treatments on the basis of their evaluation and experience. When cases were compatible with the registry, the prescribing physician communicated the case to our monitoring center. Patients were evaluated without interfering with their treatment. The main target of evaluation for this study was the change in Ve-QOL (range, 0-100) induced by treatment. A specific Ve-QOL questionnaire was used for this study. Ve-QOL score is a specific expression of the changes in QOL induced by CVI in patients between 35 and 75 years old (defined in our population studies) in which no other significant clinical disease is present (as a confounding factor affecting QOL). Two hundred twelve patients completed the 2 parts of the study. The 2 treatment groups were comparable for age and gender distribution. The mean age was 42 years (SD ±5.5) in the oxerutins group and 41.5 (SD ±6) in the D+H group. There were no differences in the severity of CVI between the treatment groups at inclusion. A significant decrease (46.8%, p<0.05) in Ve-QOL score; that is, improvement, was observed in the oxerutins group. The change in Ve-QOL was significantly less in the D+H group (15.5%). In conclusion, CVI, venous microangiopathy, and edema were significantly improved by the treatment with oxerutins; the improvement in QOL was significantly greater in the oxerutins group. The comparison with D+H indicates that oxerutins is comparatively more effective on Ve-QOL and on signs/symptoms of CVI. ©2006 Westminster Publications, Inc.