Doppler echocardiography for assessment of systemic vascular resistances in cardiogenic shock patients.

Objective: Impaired vascular tone plays an important role in cardiogenic shock. Doppler echocardiography provides a non-invasive estimation of systemic vascular resistance. The aim of the present study was to compare Doppler echocardiography with the transpulmonary thermodilution method for the assessment of systemic vascular resistance in patients with cardiogenic shock.

Methods: This prospective monocentric comparison study was conducted in a single cardiology intensive care unit (Hopital Nord, Marseille, France). We assessed the systemic vascular resistance index by both echocardiography and transpulmonary thermodilution in 28 patients admitted for cardiogenic shock, on admission and after the introduction of an inotrope or vasopressor treatment.

Results: A total of 35 paired echocardiographic and transpulmonary thermodilution estimations of the systemic vascular resistance index were compared. Echocardiography values ranged from 1309 to 3526 dynes.s.m/cm and transpulmonary thermodilution values ranged from 1320 to 3901 dynes.s.m/cm. A statistically significant correlation was found between echocardiography and transpulmonary thermodilution (=0.86, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.74, 0.93; <0.0001). The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.84 (95% CI 0.72, 0.92). The mean bias was -111.95 dynes.s.m/cm (95% CI -230.06, 6.16). Limits of agreement were -785.86, 561.96.

Conclusions: Doppler echocardiography constitutes an accurate non-invasive alternative to transpulmonary thermodilution to provide an estimation of systemic vascular resistance in patients with cardiogenic shock.