Thigh pressure artifacts with noninvasive techniques in an experimental model.

In an experimental canine model of isolated and tandem arterial stenoses, noninvasive thigh and calf pressure measurements were evaluated against direct intra-arterial pressures. Under control circumstances, proximal iliac arterial stenosis, and high superficial femoral artery stenosis, the noninvasive measurements were highly accurate. However, when stenoses were created distal to the high pressure cuff, a significant error in the thigh pressure measurement was observed, with an underestimation of thigh pressure and subsequent false implication of a proximal lesion. Two tandem distal lesions produced a significantly more severe thigh measurement artifact. Further, the noninvasive system was incapable of detecting a moderately severe profunda stenosis, although stenoses of the iliac and femoral system were detected in a routine, accurate, and sensitive fashion.