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J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2002;123:396
© 2002 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery

Letters to the Editor

Preoperative assessment of hand circulation by means of Doppler ultrasonography and the modified Allen test

Pawan Kumar, MS, Anil G. Tendolkar, MS, Sreedhar Reddy, MS

Division Of Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery
The LTMMC & LTM General Hospital
Sion, Mumbai 400 022, India

To the Editor:

Ruengsakulrach and associatesGo 1 published a very interesting article highlighting the importance of pulsatile flow in the dorsal digital thumb artery, the presence of which would guarantee a patent palmar arch. However, we carry out a similar test using very simple and readily available means.
Every patient scheduled for coronary artery bypass grafting is subjected to a modified Allen test on admission. On the day of the operation, the patency of the palmar arch is confirmed in the following manner. The patient is seated and a pulse oximeter probe is connected to the thumb. Pulsatile waveform tracings are identified. Next, the radial artery is compressed. If the same quality of waveform tracings is seen on the monitor, then good pulsatile flow through the dorsal digital artery is indicated, confirming the patency of the palmar arch. This is a very simple and accurate technique and can easily be performed in the intensive care unit.
12/8/121287

doi:10.1067/mtc.2002.121287

Reference

  1. Ruengsakulrach P, Brooks M, Hare DL, Gordon I, Buxton BF. Preoperative assessment of hand circulation by means of Doppler ultrasonography and the modified Allen test. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2001;121:526-31.[Abstract/Free Full Text]




This Article
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