“The peripheral perfusion index discriminates haemodynamic responses to induction of general anaesthesia”

Induction of general anaesthesia is often accompanied by hypotension. Standard haemodynamic monitoring during anaesthesia relies on intermittent blood pressure and heart rate. Continuous monitoring systemic blood pressure requires invasive or advanced modalities creating a barrier for obtaining important information of the circulation. The Peripheral Perfusion Index (PPI) is obtained non-invasively and continuously by standard photoplethysmography. We hypothesized that different patterns of changes in systemic haemodynamics during induction of general anaesthesia would be reflected in the PPI. Continuous values of PPI, stroke volume (SV), cardiac output (CO), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were evaluated in 107 patients by either minimally invasive or non-invasive means in a mixed population of surgical patients. 2 min after induction of general anaesthesia relative changes of SV, CO, and MAP was compared to the relative changes of PPI. After induction total cohort mean(± st.dev.) MAP, SV, and CO decreased to 65(± 16)%, 74(± 18)%, and 63(± 16)% of baseline values. In the 38 patients where PPI decreased MAP was 57(± 14)%, SV was 63(± 18)%, and CO was 55(± 18)% of baseline values 2 min after induction. In the 69 patients where PPI increased the corresponding values were MAP 70(± 15)%, SV 80(± 16)%, and CO 68(± 17)% (all differences: p < 0,001). During induction of general anaesthesia changes in PPI discriminated between the degrees of reduction in blood pressure and algorithm derived cardiac stroke volume and -output. As such, the PPI has potential to be a simple and non-invasive indicator of the degree of post-induction haemodynamic changes.