DOI: 10.33631/sabd.1980854 ISSN: 2792-0542

Cutaneous Microvascularity in Smokers and Non-Smokers: A Quantitative Microvascular Ultrasound Study

Mehmet Ali Özel, İbrahim Feyyaz Naldemir, Zeynep Alkaş, Abdullah Gökçe, Abdulkadir Kaya
Show PDF Cite
Aim: This study aimed to quantitatively compare cheek and hypothenar cutaneous microvascularity between the smoker and non-smoker groups using microV microvascular ultrasound imaging and QPack-based analysis, and to evaluate short-term post-smoking changes in the smoker group.Material and Methods: This prospective observational comparative study included 90 healthy adults aged 30–55 years, comprising 48 participants in the smoker group with at least 10 pack-years of smoking exposure and 42 participants in the non-smoker group. Cheek and non-dominant hypothenar skin were examined using an Esaote MyLab X90 ultrasound system with an LMX 4-20 high-frequency linear transducer and microV mode. Quantitative microvascularity was measured using QPack as the percentage of color-coded microvascular signal within a fixed region of interest. Participants in the smoker group were examined after at least 2 hours of smoking abstinence and again after smoking one cigarette.Results: Baseline cheek microvascularity did not differ significantly between the non-smoker and smoker groups [0.90% (0.30–1.98) vs. 1.10% (0.30–2.40), p=0.360]. Baseline hypothenar microvascularity was also similar [1.00% (0.45–2.43) vs. 1.00% (0.40–2.85), p=0.932]. In the smoker group, neither cheek nor hypothenar microvascularity changed significantly after smoking one cigarette (p=0.273 and p=0.870, respectively). Cheek microvascularity was higher in male participants, and hypothenar microvascularity correlated positively with local skin thickness.Conclusion: In this healthy cohort, resting ROI-based microvascularity at the cheek and hypothenar regions did not differ significantly between the smoker and non-smoker groups, and acute smoking did not produce a significant short-term change in the smoker group. Sex and local skin thickness may influence these measurements.

More from our Archive