Reproducibility of ultrasound assessment of common carotid and femoral artery compliance and distensibility in the anesthetized rat

Objective: To validate ultrasound assessment of common carotid and femoral artery compliance and distensibility in the anesthetized rat. Materials and methods: A reproducibility study was performed by taking measurements twice on two different days in anesthetized Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. The common carotid or femoral arterial diameter on one side and the contralateral arterial blood pressure were measured using a 10-MHz probe echo-Doppler device and an arterial catheter, respectively. The pressure and diameter data were stored in a computer programmed to calculate the arterial compliance and distensibility coefficients (Reneman formulas) and compliance and distensibility indices (arctangent model of Langewouters). A second experimental session was repeated 1 day later, and mean values, day-to-day mean differences and repeatability coefficients were calculated for each parameter. Results: For both the common carotid and the femoral artery, the mean values for heart rate, mean arterial ...