Determination of cardiac output in anesthetized neonatal foals by use of two pulse wave analysis methods.

The research compares two methods of measuring cardiac output, PULSECO and PICCO, in anesthetized foals, using LIDCO as the standard measure.

Study Design and Procedures

• The study involved six newborn (1 to 4 days old) foals that weighed between 38 and 45 kg.
• After being anesthetized, the foals were instrumented to measure several physiological parameters, including direct blood pressure, heart rate, arterial blood gases, and cardiac output (CO).
• The team used three techniques to measure CO: Lithium Arterial Pressure Waveform Analysis (PULSECO), Transpulmonary Pulse Contour Analysis (PICCO), and Lithium Dilution (LIDCO).
• These measurements were converted into specific CO (sCO) values for statistical analysis. Readings were taken during periods of low, intermediate, and high CO.

Results and Findings

• The sCO ranged between 75.5 and 310 mL/kg/min.
• The mean bias of PICCO varied significantly among CO states, recording -51.9 +/- 23.1 mL/kg/min, 20.0 +/- 19.5 mL/kg/min, and 87.2 +/- 19.5 mL/kg/min at low, intermediate and high CO states respectively.
• The mean bias for PULSECO was significantly lower compared to PICCO and was consistent across all CO states.
• The correlation between LIDCO and PULSECO was significantly larger than that between LIDCO and PICCO.
• The proportion of observations with a relative bias of less than or equal to 30% were significantly lower with the PULSECO method than with the PICCO method.

Conclusions

• The researchers found that the PULSECO method was more reproducible and more consistent with the LIDCO values compared to the PICCO method.
• Also, PULSECO was found to be more accurate in monitoring changes in CO in anesthetized newborn foals.