| Abstrakt: |
Summary: A technique employing a Doppler ultrasound probe to measure cerebral blood velocity was used to study the cerebral circulation continuously in 30 newborn mongrel dogs. Utilizing a transfon-tanelle approach, the probe was maintained in fixed position throughout a given experiment. In 20 animals, changes in systolic, diastolic, and mean cerebral blood velocity during hypo- and hypercarbia were directly correlated (P < 0.01) with changes in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) determined in 12 regions of the brain by the [14C]iodoantipyrine autoradiography technique. In an additional 10 dogs, multiple determinations of systolic, diastolic, and mean blood velocity were made over a wide range of PaCO2values and found to be directly related to the PaCO2(P < 0.001). These data suggest that changes in cerebral blood velocity are closely related to changes in cerebral blood flow. We also calculated the pulsatility index (PI) from the peak systolic and end diastolic velocities and found a poor, but direct (r = 0.28, P < 0.05) relationship between the PI and PaCO2rather than the indirect relationship, which has been suggested in published clinical studies. We conclude that the Doppler technique may be valuable in monitoring dynamic events of the neonatal cerebral circulation if a constant probe position is maintained. Our results suggest, however, that the PI is not a reliable index of cerebral vascular resistance. |
