Dynamic arterial elastance measured with pressure recording analytical method, and mean arterial pressure responsiveness in hypotensive preload dependent patients undergoing cardiac surgery

BACKGROUND: Organ perfusion is a factor of cardiac output and perfusion pressure. Recent evidence shows that dynamic arterial elastance is a reliable index of the interaction between the left ventricle and the arterial system and, in turn, of left ventricular mechanical efficiency. A practical approach to the assessment of dynamic arterial elastance at the bedside is the ratio between pulse pressure variation and stroke volume variation, which might predict the effect of a fluid challenge on the arterial pressure in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the ability of dynamic arterial elastance, measured by the pressure recording analytical method (PRAM), to predict the response of mean arterial pressure (MAP) to a fluid challenge. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: Cardiac surgery patients in a university hospital. PATIENTS: Preload-dependent (pulse pressure variation ≥13%), hypotensive (MAP ≤65 mmHg) patients, without right ventricular dysfunction, at the end of cardiac surgery. INTERVENTIONS: A 250 ml fluid challenge infused over 3 min. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A receiver-operating characteristic curve was generated to test the ability of the baseline (before fluid challenge) dynamic arterial elastance (primary endpoint) and all other haemodynamic variables (secondary endpoint) to predict MAP responsiveness (≥10% increase in MAP) after a fluid challenge. RESULTS: Of 270 patients undergoing cardiac surgery, 97 (35.9%) were preload-dependent, hypotensive and received a fluid challenge. Of these 97 patients, 50 (51%) were MAP responders (≥10% increase in MAP) and 47 (48%) were MAP nonresponders (<10% increase in MAP). Baseline dynamic arterial elastance (mean ± SD) had an area under the curve of 0.64 ± 0.06 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.53 to 0.73; P = 0.017]. A dynamic arterial elastance at least 1.07 with a grey zone ranging between 0.9 and 1.5 had 86% sensitivity (95% CI, 73 to 94) and 45% specificity (95% CI, 30 to 60) in predicting MAP increase. CONCLUSION: In a hypotensive preload-dependent cardiac surgery cohort without right ventricular dysfunction, dynamic arterial elastance measured by PRAM can predict pressure response for values greater than 1.5 or less than 0.9.