Introduction — This topic includes links to society and government-sponsored guidelines from selected countries and regions around the world. We will update these links periodically; newer versions of some guidelines may be available on each society's website. Some societies may require users to log in to access their guidelines.
The recommendations in the following guidelines may vary from those that appear in UpToDate topic reviews. Readers who are looking for UpToDate topic reviews should use the UpToDate search box to find the relevant content.
Links to related guidelines are provided separately. (See "Society guideline links: Superficial vein thrombosis, deep vein thrombosis, and pulmonary embolism" and "Society guideline links: Lymphedema" and "Society guideline links: Chronic wound management".)
International
●International Union of Phlebology (UIP): Consensus document on sclerotherapy of lower limb veins – Indications, contraindications and treatment strategies to prevent complications (2023)
●UIP, Australasian College of Phlebology (ACP), Australia and New Zealand Society for Vascular Surgery (ANZSVS), American Venous Forum (AVF), American Vein and Lymphatic Society (AVLS), and Interventional Radiology Society of Australia (IRSA): Position statement on coil embolization for the treatment of peripheral veins (2020)
●AVF, Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS), American College of Phlebology (ACP), Society for Vascular Medicine (SVM), and UIP: Clinical practice guidelines on compression therapy after invasive treatment of superficial veins of the lower extremities (2019)
●UIP: Consensus according to scientific evidence on venous hemodynamic changes in lower limb venous disease (2016)
●Wound Healing Society (WHS): 2015 update on guidelines for venous ulcers (published 2016)
●Association for the Advancement of Wound Care (AAWC): International consolidated venous ulcer guideline (ICUVG), update (2015)
●Guidelines of the first interventional consensus conference on endovenous thermal ablation for varicose vein disease – ETAV consensus meeting 2012 (published 2014)
●UIP: Consensus document on venous symptoms in C0 and C1 patients (2013)
●UIP: Expert consensus document on direct ambulatory venous pressure measurement (2013)
●Wounds International: Principles of compression in venous disease – A practitioner's guide to treatment and prevention of venous leg ulcers (2013)
●UIP: 2011 C3 consensus (published 2012)
●UIP: Consensus document for duplex ultrasound investigation of the veins of the lower limbs after treatment for varicose veins (2011)
Canada
●Canadian Society for Vascular Surgery (CSVS): Application of clinical practice guidelines for the management of varicose veins and chronic venous disease to Canadian practice – Part one: Presentation, assessment and classification
●CSVS: Application of clinical practice guidelines for the management of varicose veins and chronic venous disease to Canadian practice – Part two: Treatment, post-treatment follow up and ongoing management
●Choosing Wisely Canada: Don't routinely prescribe antibiotics for bilateral lower leg redness and swelling (2023)
●Thrombosis Canada: Post thrombotic syndrome (PTS) (2021)
●Canadian Association of Wound Care (Wounds Canada): Foundations of best practice for skin and wound management – Best practice recommendations for the prevention and management of venous leg ulcers (2019)
●Wounds Canada: The effects of low frequency nerve stimulation to support the healing of venous leg ulcers (2016)
●Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR), Cardiovascular Interventional Radiological Society of Europe (CIRSE), American College of Phlebology (ACP), and Canadian Interventional Radiology Association (CIRA): Multi-disciplinary quality improvement guidelines for the treatment of lower extremity superficial venous insufficiency with ambulatory phlebectomy (2010)
●SIR, CIRSE, ACP, and CIRA: Multi-society consensus quality improvement guidelines for the treatment of lower-extremity superficial venous insufficiency with endovenous thermal ablation (2010)
United States
●Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS), American Venous Forum (AVF), and American Vein and Lymphatic Society (AVLS): 2023 clinical practice guidelines for the management of varicose veins of the lower extremities – Part II (published 2024)
●American College of Radiology (ACR): ACR Appropriateness Criteria on lower extremity chronic venous disease (revised 2023)
●SVS, AVF, and AVLS: 2022 clinical practice guidelines for the management of varicose veins of the lower extremities – Part I: Duplex scanning and treatment of superficial truncal reflux (published 2023)
●AVLS: The Symptoms-Varices-Pathophysiology classification of pelvic venous disorders (2021)
●Wound Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society (WOCN): Lower-extremity wounds due to venous disease, arterial disease, or diabetes mellitus and/or neuropathic disease – Clinical resource guide (2021)
●AVF, SVS, AVLS, and Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR): Appropriate use criteria for chronic lower extremity venous disease (2020)
●International Union of Phlebology (UIP), Australasian College of Phlebology (ACP), Australia and New Zealand Society for Vascular Surgery (ANZSVS), AVF, AVLS, and Interventional Radiology Society of Australia (IRSA): Position statement on coil embolization for the treatment of peripheral veins (2020)
●ACR–American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM)–Society of Pediatric Radiology (SPR)–Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound (SRU): Practice parameter for the performance of peripheral venous ultrasound examination (revised 2019)
●AVF, SVS, American College of Phlebology (ACP), Society for Vascular Medicine (SVM), and UIP: Clinical practice guidelines on compression therapy after invasive treatment of superficial veins of the lower extremities (2019)
●WOCN: Clinical resource guide on venous, arterial, and neuropathic lower-extremity wounds (2019)
●Working Group in Chronic Venous Disease (CVD): Recommendations of the medical management of chronic venous disease – The role of micronized purified flavanoid fraction (MPFF), 2016 (published 2017)
●American College of Phlebology (ACP): Practice guidelines for superficial venous disease – Treatment of superficial venous disease of the lower leg (2016)
●Wound Healing Society (WHS): Guidelines for venous ulcers, 2015 update (published 2016)
●American College of Phlebology (ACP): Practice guideline for chronic deep venous obstruction – Management of obstruction of the femoroiliocaval venous system (2015)
●American College of Phlebology (ACP): Practice guidelines for duplex ultrasound imaging of lower extremity veins in chronic venous disease, exclusive of deep venous thrombosis – Guidelines for performance and interpretation of studies (2014)
●American Heart Association (AHA): Scientific statement on the postthrombotic syndrome – Evidence-based prevention, diagnosis, and treatment strategies (2014)
●SVS and AVF: Clinical practice guidelines for the management of venous leg ulcers (2014)
●SVS and AVF: Clinical practice guidelines for the care of patients with varicose veins and associated chronic venous diseases (2011)
●SIR, Cardiovascular Interventional Radiological Society of Europe (CIRSE), American College of Phlebology (ACP), and Canadian Interventional Radiology Association (CIRA): Multi-disciplinary quality improvement guidelines for the treatment of lower extremity superficial venous insufficiency with ambulatory phlebectomy (2010)
●SIR, CIRSE, American College of Phlebology (ACP), and CIRA: Multi-society consensus quality improvement guidelines for the treatment of lower-extremity superficial venous insufficiency with endovenous thermal ablation (2010)
Europe
●European Wound Management Association (EWMA) and Wounds Australia: Lower leg ulcer diagnosis and principles of treatment – Including recommendations for comprehensive assessment and referral pathways (2023)
●European Society for Vascular Surgery (ESVS): Clinical practice guidelines on the management of chronic venous disease of the lower limbs (2022)
●Cardiovascular Interventional Radiological Society of Europe (CIRSE): Standards of practice guidelines on iliocaval stenting (2014)
●European guidelines for sclerotherapy in chronic venous disorders (2013)
●Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR), CIRSE, American College of Phlebology (ACP), and Canadian Interventional Radiology Association (CIRA): Multi-disciplinary quality improvement guidelines for the treatment of lower extremity superficial venous insufficiency with ambulatory phlebectomy (2010)
●SIR, CIRSE, American College of Phlebology (ACP), and CIRA: Multi-society consensus quality improvement guidelines for the treatment of lower-extremity superficial venous insufficiency with endovenous thermal ablation (2010)
United Kingdom
●National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE): Guideline on leg ulcer infection – Antimicrobial prescribing (2020)
●NICE: Interventional procedures guidance on cyanoacrylate glue occlusion for varicose veins (2020)
●NICE: Interventional procedures guidance on endovenous mechanochemical ablation for varicose veins (2016)
●NICE: Quality standard on varicose veins in the leg (2014)
●NICE: Clinical guideline on varicose veins – Diagnosis and management (2013)
●NICE: Interventional procedures guidance on ultrasound-guided foam sclerotherapy for varicose veins (2013)
●Royal Society of Medicine (RSM): Recommendations for the referral and treatment of patients with lower limb chronic venous insufficiency (including varicose veins) (2011)
Australia–New Zealand
●European Wound Management Association (EWMA) and Wounds Australia: Lower leg ulcer diagnosis and principles of treatment – Including recommendations for comprehensive assessment and referral pathways (2023)
●Choosing Wisely Australia: Do not assume that bilateral redness and swelling of both lower legs is due to infection unless there is clinical evidence of sepsis such as malaise, fever and neutrophilia, plus an expanding area of redness or swelling over a period of hours to days (2021)
●International Union of Phlebology (UIP), Australasian College of Phlebology (ACP), Australia and New Zealand Society for Vascular Surgery (ANZSVS), American Venous Forum (AVF), American Vein and Lymphatic Society (AVLS), and Interventional Radiology Society of Australia (IRSA): Position statement on coil embolization for the treatment of peripheral veins (2020)
●Choosing Wisely Australia: Do not take a swab or use antibiotics for the management of a leg ulcer without clinical infection (2016)
●Australian Family Physician (AFP): Management of venous leg ulcers in general practice – A practical guideline (2014)
●Australian Wound Management Association (AWMA) and New Zealand Wound Care Society (NZWCS): Australian and New Zealand clinical practice guideline for prevention and management of venous leg ulcers (2011)
Japan
●[In Japanese] Japanese Society of Phlebology (JSP): Clinical practice guidelines for endovenous thermal ablation for varicose veins (2019)
●[In Japanese] Japanese Dermatological Association (JDA): The wound/burn guidelines – 5: Guidelines for the management of lower leg ulcers/varicose veins (2017)
●[In English] JDA: The wound/burn guidelines – 5: Guidelines for the management of lower leg ulcers/varicose veins (2016)
