A case control study using radial artery pulse signals to evaluate the low pulsatility index in Koreans

Background: Noninvasive radial artery pulse signal analysis has been widely used to assess vascular diseases, but there is no evidence of a relationship between the radial artery pulse signal and pulsatility index.

Objective: To determine whether radial artery pulse signal changes in patients with a low pulsatility index would provide diagnostic information for evaluating vascular disease.

Methods: In this case control study, 36 Korean subjects were distributed into two groups, a normal pulsatility index group and a low pulsatility index group, based on their Doppler test results. Multivariate logistic regression analysis of these two groups was conducted to identify significant radial artery pulse signals for evaluating the low pulsatility index. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to evaluate the logistic model.

Results: The low pulsatility index group displayed significantly different radial artery pulse signals compared with the normal pulsatility index group (A1; primary amplitude of right Cun, σ1; shape of the primary wave of right Chi, τ2: secondary phase of left Cun, σ2/L: ratio of the shape of the secondary wave to the length of a single-period waveform). A predictive value for the low pulsatility index was obtained using binary logistic regression, which included A1, σ1, τ2 and σ2/L. A ROC curve analysis assessed the accuracy of the test for low pulsatility index evaluation (AUC=0.931).

Conclusion: A1 (primary amplitude), σ1 (shape of the primary wave), τ2 (secondary phase), and σ2/L (ratio of the shape of the secondary wave to the length of a single-period waveform) derived from radial artery pulse signals may be used to assess a low pulsatility index in Koreans.