Therapeutic Research

Abstract

Background:The present study examined the reproducibility and accuracy of the measurement of brachial artery cross –sectional area based on a newly developed oscillometric method in two distinct studies. Methods:The Study 1 and Study 2 consisted of 9 healthy subjects(mean age 32±7 years, 7 males) and 29 patients with definitive or suspected coronary heart disease(mean age 64±10 years, 19 males), respectively. In both studies, brachial artery diameter was firstly measured with ultrasonography and then estimated area(eA) of the brachial artery was measured with the new oscillometric device, Health Chronos TM–2771 prototype (A&D Company, Tokyo, Japan). The reproducibility of the 2 consecutive measurements of eA was examined in the Study 1. The correlation between eA and brachial artery diameter by ultrasonography was examined in both studies. Results:In the Study 1, the mean coefficient of variation of eA was 3.6%. A close correlation was found between eA and brachial artery diameter by ultrasonography(r=0.93, p<0.001). The regression equation between eA–based brachial artery diameter(X) and brachial artery diameter by ultrasonography(Y) was expressed as Y=1.05X-0.46. In the Study 2, the correlation coefficient between eA and brachial artery diameter by ultrasonography was 0.75(p<0.001). Conclusions:An acceptable reproducibility and accuracy of the oscillometric measurement of eA was observed in healthy subjects. In contrast, the correlation between eA and brachial artery diameter by ultrasonography appeared to be reduced in patients with definitive or suspected coronary heart disease.