An assessment of the accuracy of renal blood flow estimation by Doppler ultrasound

Abstract

Background: Knowledge of renal blood flow is considered important in the management of critically ill patients with acute renal failure. Renal Doppler ultrasound has been used to estimate renal blood flow. Its accuracy, however, has not been formally assessed. Design: Prospective blinded animal study. Setting: University physiology laboratory. Subjects: Seven merino cross-ewes. Interventions: We chronically implanted transit-time flow probes around the left renal artery and performed Doppler ultrasound measurements of RBF. We simultaneously recorded RBF values obtained with implanted flow probes and Doppler ultrasound during (a) observation, (b) dobutamine and (c) nitroprusside infusion in r..