Non-invasive Vascular Testing

Question 0

Cap refill

Answer 0

o Blanching and refilling of nail bed

o Normal is less than 2 seconds

Question 1

What is non-invasive vascular testing?

Answer 1

• Definition –
o No pain
o No needles
o No side effects
o Used to diagnosis arterial and venous disorders and assess their severity
o Can help determine what invasive tests may be required

Question 2

Pulses

Answer 2

Feel the posterior tibial, dorsalis pedis, popliteal and femoral pulses
o Normal is present and strong
o Use a handheld Doppler if weak
• Listen to the flow

Question 3

Duplex scan

Answer 3

• Duplex Scan
o Ultrasound or sonogram
o Image of the vessels, sound of the flow
o Normal is triphasic

Question 4

Ankle pressure with Doppler

Answer 4

o “ABI” ankle brachial index
o Comparison of the blood pressure at the ankle to BP on the upper arm
o Normal is > 0.9
o Test error will be if pt has arthersclerotic vessels, will get results of >1.0, which indicates non compressible vessels

Question 5

Segmental pressures

Answer 5

• Segmental pressures with Doppler

o ABI + 3 extra sites on leg

Question 6

Treadmill exercise testing

Answer 6

• Treadmill exercise test
o ABI after walking for 5 – 10 min
o Identifies claudication

Question 7

Venous testing

Answer 7

• Venous testing
o Detects leaky valves
o Detects clots