Abstract
Fifty consecutive adult patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting or valve replacement had their left radial and dorsalis pedis arteries cannulated with 20G arterial cannula during a standard anesthetic induction. Similar pressure monitoring systems were used for both arteries. The left radial and dorsalis pedis pressures were recorded at 10-minute intervals during the prebypass, postbypass, and postoperative periods (up to 6 hours) and statistically analyzed. There were 38 male and 12 female patients, with a mean (SD) age of 50.3 (11.3) years. In the prebypass period, the dorsalis pedis systolic was significantly higher than the left radial systolic pressure; whereas, the mean arterial pressure was similar in both arterial systems. During the postbypass period, systolic and mean pressures in the dorsalis pedis were significantly lower than those in the left radial. The normal prebypass relationship of the dorsalis pedis and left radial was reestablished in the postoperative period at a mean time (SD) of 4.8 (1.2) hours after moving to the intensive care unit.
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