Evaluation of peripheral circulation in critically III patients by pulsed doppler ultrasonography

Object: Because critically ill patients often have peripheral circulatory disturbance, it is very important to evaluate the status of peripheral circulation as well as cardiac function. We evaluted peripheral circulation in critically ill patients by pulsed Doppler ultrasonography. Methods: The subjects were 5 critically ill patients with the cold extremities. All of them were on mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit. We measured the blood flow velocity of the radial artery before and during reactive hyperemia, which was induced by a 3-minute occlusion of the brachial artery by a tourniquest. Normal controls used for comparison were 10 healthy volunteers. Results: Skin temperature of the examined upper extremity in the patient group was significantly lower than that in the control group (26.1±2.4℃ versus 33.8±1.6℃,p