[Effects of chronic smoking on the superior mesenteric artery (SMA)].

OBJECTIVE Evaluate the effect of chronic smoking on peak systolic velocity (PSV) of the superior mesenteric artery, evaluated with pulsed Doppler, determining whether the longer the snuff consumption, the greater the increase in PSV. MATERIAL AND METHODS This is an analytical cross-sectional study where patients who came to perform abdominal Doppler and had a history of chronic smoking were included. Additional measurements were performed on PSV superior mesenteric artery in 60 patients. Subjects were selected by the non-probability method, taking the total number of patients who presented. Once selected, patients performed pulsed Doppler, and a study and interpretation of these was carried out. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION We studied 60 patients with a history of chronic smoking between the ages of 25 to 50 years with a median of 38.6±7.1%; chronicity of smoking was measured in years, with a mean of 17.1±8.4 (range 3-37) and PSV was divided into four ranges in cm/sec. CONCLUSIONS Chronic smoking significantly increases the PSV of the superior mesenteric artery after 21 years of the onset of smoking.