Reduced external iliac venous blood flow rate is associated with asymptomatic compression of the common iliac veins

Background and Objectives: Compression of the common iliac veins (CIV) is not always associated with lower extremity symptoms. This study analyzed this issue from the perspective of patient venous blood flow changes using quantitative flow magnetic resonance imaging. Materials and Methods: After we excluded patients with active deep vein thrombosis, the mean flux (MF) and mean velocity (MV) of the popliteal vein, femoral vein, and external iliac vein (EIV) were compared between the left and right sides. Results: Overall, 26 of the patients had unilateral CIV compression, of which 16 patients had symptoms. No significant differences were noted in the MF or MV of the veins between the two sides. However, for the 10 patients without symptoms, the EIV MF of the compression side was significantly lower than the EIV MF of the non-compression side (p = 0.04). The receiver operating characteristic curve and chi-squared analyses showed that when the percentage difference of EIV MF between the compression and non-compression sides was ≤−18.5%, the relative risk of associated lower extremity symptoms was 0.44 (p = 0.016). Conclusions: If a person has compression of the CIV, a decrease in EIV blood flow rate on the compression side reduces the rate of symptom occurrence.