[Medical treatment of chronic venous disease: evolution or involution?].

Chronic venous disease (CVD) is an important clinical condition with substantial epidemiological implications and socio-economic repercussions. In the Western world the consequences of its high prevalence, the costs of diagnosis and therapy, the significant loss of working hours and the repercussions on patients'quality of life are well known. Pharmacotherapy for CVD has greatly developed over the last 40 years and largely used in the symptomatic treatment of CVD together with compression therapy and to make patients more comfortable. The clinical efficacy on the symptoms (feeling of heaviness, pain, paresthesia, heat and burning sensations, night cramps, etc.) has long been confirmed by Level III, IV and V evidence, but there are now Level I and II trials on specific drugs. For the bioflavonoids double-blind, randomised trials have used micronized purified flavonoid fraction; rutosides; escin; anthocyanosides; and synthetic calcium dobesilate. It was therefore surprising some recent difficulties in the use of this important treatment in health national system in Italy. In this up-date we use the method on evidence-based medicine from the medical literature. We have started a governance and economic analysis of the problem in Italy. Particular consideration was given to the evidence set out in review, meta-analysis, guidelines and Consensus Statements in this field. The evidence for pharmacological agents in the treatment of CVD suggests today a wide use in all CEAP classes.