Article

OBJECTIVES: To determine the
intra- and inter-tester reliability of aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV)
measurements collected using applanation tonometry in individuals with spinal
cord injury (SCI). SETTING: Inpatient Rehabilitation Centre and outpatient Clinic
in Vancouver, BC, Canada. METHODS: Fifteen men and three women with traumatic SCI
(age: 46+/-16 years; C3-L1; American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale
A-D; 2-284 months post injury) participated in two testing sessions separated by
an average of 2 days. During each testing session, aPWV measurements were
collected in the supine position following 10 min of rest. Arterial blood
pressure waveforms were collected simultaneously by two trained raters at the
carotid and femoral arterial sites using applanation tonometry. Heart rate was
continuously measured using a single-lead electrocardiogram, whereas brachial
blood pressures were measured at 5-min intervals using an automated device.
RESULTS: Intra- and inter-tester aPWV measurements demonstrated almost perfect
reliability with intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.91 and 0.98 (P<0.001),
and coefficients of variation of 5.9% and 3.4%, respectively. The smallest
detectable differences (SDDs) for intra- and inter-tester measurements were 0.9 m
s(-1) and 0.6 m s(-1), respectively. There were no significant differences in
heart rate or blood pressure between intra- and inter-testing sessions.
CONCLUSION: Applanation tonometry measurements of aPWV are reliable in
individuals with SCI. In addition, the SDDs were smaller than a clinically
relevant value, suggesting that this measurement is suitable for repeated
measures study designs in SCI.

Langue : ANGLAIS