Endothelial Pulse Amplitude Testing: Feasibility and Reproducibility in Adolescents
Received 4 September 2008; received in revised form 26 November 2008; accepted 17 December 2008. published online 13 February 2009.
Objectives
To test prospectively the reproducibility and feasibility of endothelial pulse amplitude testing (Endo-PAT), a novel Food and Drug Administration-approved technology, in healthy adolescents.
Study design
We performed Endo-PAT testing on 2 different days separated by no more than 7 days in 30 healthy fasting adolescents, ages 13 to 19 years, to assess reproducibility and feasibility. The reported level of discomfort, as measured on a pain scale of 1 to 5, was documented.
Results
The mean difference in paired Endo-PAT indices was 0.12 (95% CI, –0.09-0.33; P = .24; intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.78), and the within-subject variation of Endo-PAT index was 0.16. The Endo-PAT index on test days 1 and 2 were 1.91 ± 0.57 and 1.78 ± 0.51 (mean plus or minus SD), respectively. All attempted studies (100%) were completed (95% CI, 88%-100%), and all completed studies (100%) could be analyzed (95% CI, 88%-100%). The median pain score was 1 on both days.
Conclusion
In healthy adolescents, Endo-PAT is feasible and has excellent reproducibility. This technology may provide an easy and reliable means of assessing endothelial function in the pediatric population.
Department of Cardiology, Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, the Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, and the University of Colorado
Reprint requests: Elif Seda Selamet Tierney, MD, Children's Hospital Boston, Department of Cardiology, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02155
This study was supported, in part, by the Higgins Family Noninvasive Cardiac Imaging Research Funds, by funding from the Maram and Carpenter families, the Ciaranello Family Fund, and the Children's Hospital Boston General Clinic Research Center through a grant (#MO1-RR02172) from the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health. Dr de Ferranti was supported by an Eleanor and Miles Shore scholarship and by a National Institutes of Health grant from National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (K23HL85308-2). The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
ABSTRACT