Toe / Brachial Pressure Indices.

Hi Everyone
Can anyone help me with some info please?
What are the normal values for toe / brachial pressure indices when both brachial and toe pressures are measured with PPG as compared with measuring the brachial pressure with doppler and the toe pressure with PPG? There seems to be a very wide variation looking through the literature and no real consensus.
Does anyone out there know?

Thanks
Karen

Hi Karen

We measure toe pressures and brachial pressures using PPG and use the same criteria as if we were using Doppler.

The criteria we use are those set out in the SVT lab manual, i.e. > 0.6 = WNL, < 0.6 = abnormal. As far as I am aware, the index should be the same whether Doppler or PPG is used. One of our Medical Physics students did look at Doppler versus PPG and found that there was no difference in index when measuring ABPIs. We only use PPG for toe-brachial pressure indices but we expect the index to be the same irrespective of measurement method. If anybody has any conflicting info it would be much appreciated.

Hope this helps.

Sarah