[A comparison of finger and nose probes in pulse dye-densitometry measurements of cardiac output, blood volume and mean transit time].

We compared finger and nose probes in measurement of cardiac output (CO), blood volume (BV) and mean transit time (MTT) with pulse dye-densitometry. These probes were intraoperatively applied to 6 patients under general and continuous epidural anesthesia. Indocyanine green (ICG) 20 mg, was given via peripheral venous route, and CO, BV and MTT were measured with DDG-2001 (NihonKoden, Japan). Eighteen measurements were done successfully. There was no significant difference between F-CO (CO with a finger probe, 4.48 +/- 1.40 l.min-1, mean +/- SD) and N-CO (CO with a nose probe, 4.14 +/- 1.87 l.min-1). F-MTT (32.9 +/- 11.1 sec) was significantly longer than N-MTT (19.9 +/- 6.4 sec, P < 0.01). The limits of agreement of F-CO and N-CO (mean difference +/- 2 SD) were -3.6 and +4.2 l.min-1, respectively. There was a significant negative correlation between differences in MTT and F-CO/N-CO (R2 = 0.448, P < 0.01). There was no significant difference between F-BV (3.97 +/- 1.23 l) and N-BV (3.97 +/- 0.98 l). The limits of agreement of F-BV and N-BV were -1.3 and +1.3 l, respectively. In conclusion, the measured values in BV showed good agreement and reliability with both finger and nose probes, while CO was less reliable when differences in MTT increased.