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Updated: Jul 9, 2026

A Novel Non-invasive Method for the Detection of Elevated Intra-compartmental Pressures of the Leg
Published on: May 31, 2019
Can a peripheral artery be used to detect venous to arterial circulation shunts?
Kevin J Daly1, Suzanne Hutchinson, Charles N McCollum
1Department of Vascular Surgery, South Manchester University Hospital, Manchester, UK. kjdaly@ukonline.co.uk
Background:
Transcranial Doppler is a sensitive test for patent foramen ovale (PFO), but an absent temporal window precludes this in 12-15% of patients. We investigated whether the brachial (BrA), common carotid (CCA) or common femoral (CFA) artery provided reliable alternatives.
Methods:
Patients underwent simultaneous insonation of a middle cerebral artery (MCA, n = 66) and either (a) the BrA (n = 22), (b) CCA (n = 20) or (c) CFA (n = 24) with a 2-MHz transcranial Doppler probe.
Results:
The correlation between microbubble emboli counts in the MCA and the peripheral arteries was (a) r = 0.67 (95% CI 0.53-0.77) for the BrA, (b) r = 0.80 (95% CI 0.71-0.87) for the CCA and (c) r = 0.92 (95% CI 0.89-0.95) for the CFA. The agreement for detection of PFO was best using the CFA with a kappa of 0.95 (95% CI 0.66-1.0).
Conclusion:
The CFA is a simple and reliable alternative to the MCA, but the criteria for diagnosis of a PFO are different.
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