Invasive validation of the Complior Analyse in the assessment of central artery pressure curves: a methodological study.

INTRODUCTION: Arteries are the target, the place, and the common denominator of cardiovascular diseases; hence, study of arterial function is of greatest importance in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of carotid pulse wave analysis using the new version of the Complior device--the Complior Analyse. METHODS AND RESULTS: This was a cross-sectional study that included 15 patients (seven women), mean age 62.07±10.59 years, referenced for cardiac catheterization. Pressure curves were obtained simultaneously in the ascending aorta (invasively) and in the right common carotid artery (using the Complior Analyse). Mean central arterial pressures, augmentation indexes, and wave morphology obtained using both methods were compared. A good concordance between methods was obtained for all the parameters measured, with intraclass correlation coefficients above 0.9. Bland-Altman analysis also indicated a good accuracy profile of the Complior device, with small mean differences observed for all parameters and most values confined within 2 SD of the mean difference. This was further confirmed by the strong Pearson correlation coefficients, with r² coefficients above 0.92 for all the variables studied. The correlations observed were independent of sex, age, arterial pressure, and BMI. CONCLUSION: The results presented and available research clearly indicate that the Complior Analyse device measures carotid pressure waves accurately; therefore, it is a simple and reliable noninvasive alternative for pressure wave analysis.

Reproducibility of aortic pulse wave velocity as assessed with the new Complior Analyse.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to assess the interobserver and intraobserver reproducibility, as well as the temporal variability of the new Complior Analyse assessing aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV). METHODS: Eighty-seven participants (60% men), mean age 34.26 ± 16.58 years, were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. All patients were subjected to sequential measures of aortic PWV by two experienced operators. In a group of 27 participants, PWV was also determined 1 month after the first moment evaluation to assess the temporal stability of the PWV estimations with the device. RESULTS: The analysis of concordance showed a very good agreement for paired PWV values in terms of both the intraobserver and the interobserver variability and also the temporal variability. The intraclass correlation coefficients were above 0.98 for the three conditions (P<0.0001), indicating an excellent strength of agreement. Further evidences in favor of a good overall performance of the device were determined from the Bland-Altman analysis, with small mean differences for intrareproducibility, interreproducibility, and temporal reproducibility (respectively, 0.02 ± 0.38, 0.10 ± 0.45, and 0.07 ± 0.51 m/s), and with differences mainly between 2 SDs of the mean difference. The correlations observed were independent of sex, age, arterial pressure, heart rate, and BMI. CONCLUSION: The data showed an excellent reproducibility of the Complior Analyse for the assessment of aortic PWV when used in ideal conditions and by experienced observers. The technical profile presented shows that this device meets the requirements of quality for its inclusion in integrated clinical follow-up programs.