The finger skin temperatures at ventral tip of both sides were examined in 8 normal subjects and 20 patients with vibration disorder, during one hand 45°C-water immersion test of 10 minutes.
In normal cases, the figer skin temperatures of the immersion side increased immediately and then waved from time to time during the immersion. The mean temperature at the time of 4.5 minutes was significantly higher than those of 2.5 minutes and 8.0 minutes and did not come near the 45°C graduary.
In the patients with vibration disorder who had got Raynauds' phenomenon with in a recent year, the skin temperatures did not so waved as which did in normal cases and became near the 45°C in the later half of the immersion. After the immersion, the warmed skin temperatures returned more slowly to their previous values than the normal cases.
The finger skin temperatures of the non-immersion side showed transient but significant falls initialy and then got up gradualy during the immersion in the normal cases.
In the patients with vibration disorder who had got Raynauds' phenomenon, within a recent year, the mean skin temperature of the non-immersion side was significantly lower than the normal value almost before, through and after the immersion especialy in the later half of the immersion and for several minutes after the immersion. The initial fall of skin temperatures were not so obvious as they were in the normal cases.
These data suggest that the hot water immersion test is useful to asess the peripheral circulatory disturbance in patients with vibration disorder.