The Australian Polidocanol (Aethoxysklerol) Study: Results at 1 Year

Objective: To evaluate the complications of polidocanol and compare its effectiveness and complications with sodium tetradecyl sulphate (STD) and hypertonic saline. Design: A single-arm prospective study of polidocanol complications and its effectiveness as a sclerosant. This was compared with each investigator's previous experience with other sclerosing agents. Setting: Multiple investigators in both private practices and hospital settings. Patients: Patients had either varicose veins or venule ectasias and/or spider veins (telangiectasia). A total of 8177 limbs were injected by 75 investigators. Interventions: Sclerotherapy was performed with 0.5% or 1% polidocanol for telangiectasias or spider veins, and with 3% polidocanol for varicose veins. The effectiveness of the sclerotherapy and any complications were reported during a 12-month period. Results: There were very few complications reported with polidocanol. There were no reported deaths or anaphylaxis. The investigators with previous experience of other sclerosants considered that the effectiveness of polidocanol was superior to STD (77%) and hypertonic saline (75%). Ninety-one per cent of investigators considered that polidocanol had less frequent complications than STD, and 96% considered that these were less severe. Sixty-nine per cent considered that polidocanol had fewer side-effects than hypertonic saline, and 71% considered that these were less severe. Conclusions: Polidocanol is an effective sclerosant that has few complications.