Brachial artery reactivity and vascular reactive hyperemia for preoperative anaesthesia risk assessment - an observational study

Abstract

Background: Non-invasive measures of vascular reactivity have emerged to refine cardiovascular risk. However, limited data exists investigating vascular reactivity as a preoperative diagnostic tool for anesthesiologists. In this study, we compare the utility of two non-invasive techniques, Brachial Artery Reactivity Testing (BART) and Digital Thermal Monitoring (DTM), as surrogates for measuring vascular reactivity.Methods: Following IRB approval, 26 patients scheduled for major thoracic surgery (e.g. esophagectomy and pneumonectomy) were studied prospectively. BART [Flow mediated dilation (FMD) and Peak flow velocity (PFV)] and DTM [Temperature rebound (TR%)] were performed preoperatively a..