Reproducibility of aortic pulse wave velocity as assessed with the new Complior Analyse

The aim of this study was to assess the interobserver and intraobserver reproducibility, as well as the temporal variability of the new Complior Analyse assessing aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV).

Eighty-seven participants (60% men), mean age 34.26 ± 16.58 years, were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. All patients were subjected to sequential measures of aortic PWV by two experienced operators. In a group of 27 participants, PWV was also determined 1 month after the first moment evaluation to assess the temporal stability of the PWV estimations with the device.

The analysis of concordance showed a very good agreement for paired PWV values in terms of both the intraobserver and the interobserver variability and also the temporal variability. The intraclass correlation coefficients were above 0.98 for the three conditions (P<0.0001), indicating an excellent strength of agreement. Further evidences in favor of a good overall performance of the device were determined from the Bland-Altman analysis, with small mean differences for intrareproducibility, interreproducibility, and temporal reproducibility (respectively, 0.02 ± 0.38, 0.10 ± 0.45, and 0.07 ± 0.51 m/s), and with differences mainly between 2 SDs of the mean difference. The correlations observed were independent of sex, age, arterial pressure, heart rate, and BMI.

The data showed an excellent reproducibility of the Complior Analyse for the assessment of aortic PWV when used in ideal conditions and by experienced observers. The technical profile presented shows that this device meets the requirements of quality for its inclusion in integrated clinical follow-up programs.