Noninvasive Doppler determination of cardiac output in man. Clinical validation.

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Abstract
A noninvasive technique for assessing cardiac output (CO) was compared with thermodilution determinations in patients in the intensive care unit. The new method uses pulsed ultrasound to measure aortic diameter and continuous-wave Doppler ultrasound to obtain aortic blood velocity. An initial study evaluating just the velocity measurement showed that changes of the Doppler index of output (DI) correlated well with those of thermodilution cardiac output (TDCO). Linear regression analysis yielded .DELTA.DI = 0.87 .DELTA.TDCO + 0.14 (r = 0.83, n = 95). By use of a university research instrument, these measurements were possible in 54 of 60 patients (90%). A 2nd study using a prototype commercial device incorporated the diameter measurement. Ultrasonic cardiac output (UCO), calculated as the time integral of velocity multiplied by the aortic area was compared to TDCO. The data, obtained from 45 of 53 patients (85%), are described by the linear regression UCO = 0.95TDCO + 0.38 (r = 0.94, n = 110) over a range of 2-11 l/min. Patients with aortic stenosis, aortic insufficiency or a prosthetic valve were excluded from the 2nd study due to conditions likely to violate the assumptions upon which the calculation of absolute cardiac output is based. Apparently, accurate CO can be measured by noninvasive ultrasound in most patients. The technique may be useful for extended CO monitoring in acute care patients and for CO assessment in many other types of patients undergoing diagnostic studies and therapeutic interventions.