EVALUATION OF THE VELCOM-100 PULSE DOPPLER CARDIAC-OUTPUT COMPUTER

The use of Doppler ultrasound as a means of obtaining cardiac output (CO) measurements quickly, easily, and noninvasively has been made possible by recent technologic developments. We evaluated a new pulse Doppler ultrasonic unit (Velcom-100, Waters Instruments, Inc) in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at the University of Michigan Medical Center. Accuracy of this device was determined by comparison of CO results obtained from the Velcom-100 (CO(v)) against those of conventional thermal dilution cardiac output (CO(T)) measurements. Twenty-six postoperative patients were used for this study, ranging in age from 20 to 82 years old. Initial studies prior to in vivo standardization demonstrated a significantly lower result (p = 0.039) for the Velcom-100 with a mean difference of 0.86 L/min (CO(T)-CO(V)). This comparison was significantly improved in subsequent studies following in vivo standardization (CO(T)-CO(V) = 0.02 L/min, p = 0.646). Linear regression analysis showed a significant, positive correlation between the two results (r = 0.82, p < 0.05) indicating an excellent trending capability for the Velcom-100. Our evaluation found the Velcom-100 to be user friendly, allowing rapid training of ICU technicians and applicability for postoperative monitoring.