Mesotherapy <i>versus</i> oral medical treatment of chronic venous insufficiency in a general practitioner setting - A randomized controlled trial

Mesotherapy involves the introduction of drugs through dermal microinjections for preventive, therapeutic, or rehabilitative purposes. This study evaluates the safety, tolerability, and effectiveness of mesotherapy in treating Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI) compared to traditional oral treatments. Sixty-one patients with CVI (CEAP stage C3-C4) were randomized into two groups. The primary outcome was the measurement of bilateral ankle circumferences. Secondary outcomes included the evaluation of bilateral circumferences and subcutaneous ultrasound thicknesses at the thigh, calf, and medial ankle, and Clinical, Etiological, Anatomical, and Pathophysiological (CEAP) stage variation. The treatment group (30 patients) received mesotherapy with a complex homeopathic product every 15 days for 3 months, and the control group (31 patients) was treated with oral flavonoids for 3 months. With no recorded adverse effects, mesotherapy led to significant reductions in bilateral ankle circumferences (right p=0.0008, left p=0.0075), CEAP stage (p=0.0212), ankle ultrasound thicknesses (right p=0.0037, left p=0.0015) and calf thicknesses (right p=0.0131, left p=0.0137). Mesotherapy was found to be safe, well tolerated, and more effective with respect to oral drugs in CVI patients; however, further randomized, controlled, and blind trials with wider sample sizes are mandatory to confirm our results.