Affiliations: [a]
Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Medicine Hradec Kralove, University Hospital Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
| [b]
Departments of Anesthesia, Pain Management and Perioperative Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| [c]
Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Medicine and Intensive Care, J.E. Purkinje University, Masaryk Hospital, Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic
| [d]
Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, University of Tartu, Tartu University Hospital Estonia
| [e]
Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
| [f]
Department of Pharmacology, Microbiology and Immunology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
Correspondence:
[*]
Corresponding author: Christian Lehmann, Department of Anesthesia, Pain Management and Perioperative Medicine, QE II Health Sciences Centre, 10 West Victoria, 1276 South Park St., Halifax, NS, B3H 2Y9, Canada. Tel.: +1 902 473 2331; Fax: +1 902 423 9454; E-mail: chlehmann@dal.ca.
Abstract: Excessive time for analysis may impede microcirculatory studies with large amounts of video data. Engaging more personnel in the analyses seems to be a rational approach in that scenario and could shorten the time-interval between capturing images and obtaining results. Our hypothesis was that novice users would be able to determine standard microcirculatory parameters using a semi-automated software with an acceptable degree of variability after participating in a standardized interactive training session. 14 volunteers were included in the study. All volunteers analyzed separately the same sample video after the training. The kappa statistic was calculated for the primary outcome parameter microvascular flow index (MFI) within small and large vessels and indicated a fair level of agreement in the results of the novice users. A standardized interactive tutorial can be useful to teach microcirculatory analysis in previously untrained subjects.
