Drug treatment of chronic venous insufficiency and venous ulceration: a review.

Treatment of venous insufficiency and venous ulceration has for many years relied on established principles of compression and limb elevation. Drug treatment has been of little benefit. In recent years, a better understanding of the pathological mechanisms underlying skin damage in venous disease has allowed more rational pharmacotherapeutic approaches to be made. This review examines these, with special reference to current theories of the cause of venous ulceration.