[Comparison of the automated oscillometric method with Doppler ultrasound method to access the Ankle-Brachial Pressure Index (ABPI)]

The Ankle-Brachial Pressure Index (ABPI) is the easiest non-invasive method for the assessment of peripheral arterial diseases (PAD) but remains uncommon in general practice, because of the need for training and specific devices. The purpose of this survey was to assess the reliability of the automated oscillometric measurement of the ABPI, compared with the gold-standard Doppler ultrasound measurement.A study was conducted on patients aged 65 years and over without diagnosed PAD hospitalized in the Teaching Hospital of Angers (France) from July 2008 to March 2009. In compressive ankle arteries and atrial fibrillation were exclusion criteria. ABPI measurements were performed by the same examiner with oscillometric and Doppler devices. Reproducibility was assessed by the intra-class correlation coefficient of agreement (ICC) and the Bland-Altman method.Out of the 287 eligible hospitalized patients, 221 patients were included in the study and 56 (25%) had an ABPI below 0.90. The inter-method reliability is poor (ICC = 0.35+/-0.08) and the mean difference between the methods was 0.08+/-0.26 according to the Bland-Altman method.Automatic oscillometric devices cannot be recommended as a reliable alternative to access the ABPI.