Evaluation of a commercial ultrasonographic hemodynamic recording system for the measurement of cardiac output in dogs.

Objective--To evaluate the accuracy of a commercial ultrasonographic cardiac output (CO) monitoring system (UCOMS) in anesthetized Beagles as assessed by comparison with thermodilution CO (TDCO). Animals--8 healthy anesthetized Beagles. Procedures--Simultaneous UCOMS and TDCO measurements of CO were obtained during 4 hemodynamic states: baseline anesthesia (0.5% to 1.5% isofiurane), a higher depth of anesthesia (2% to 3.5% isoflurane) to yield a ≥ 15% reduction in systolic arterial blood pressure, IV infusion of-colloidal solution to a mean right atrial pressure of ≥ 15 mm Hg, and IV infusion of dobutamine at 5 µg/kg/min. Measurements were obtained at 2 probe positions: the subxiphoid region and the right thoracic inlet. Correlation and agreement of results between methods were determined via linear regression analysis and Bland-Altman plots. Results--A significant positive correlation was detected between UCOMS and TDCO measurements obtained at the subxiphoid (ρ = 0.86) and thoracic inlet (ρ = 0.83) positions. Bland-Altman plots revealed minimal bias between methods (bias ± SD, -0.03 ± 0.73 L/min and -0.20 ± 0.80 L/min for subxiphoid and thoracic inlet measurements, respectively). However, the percentage error associated with UCOMS measurements made at the 2 positions was > 45%. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance--When compared with the results of TDCO, CO measured with the UCOMS exceeded commonly accepted limits of error in healthy dogs, The UCOMS was, however, able to track changes in CO across hemodynamic states. Additional research is needed to assess the usefulness of the UCOMS for monitoring CO in critically ill dogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]