COMPARATIVE STUDY
JOURNAL ARTICLE
RESEARCH SUPPORT, NON-U.S. GOV'T
Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Reliability of Allen's test in selection of patients for radial artery harvest.

BACKGROUND: Allen's test is widely used to assess the ulnar collateral blood supply of the hand before radial artery harvest for coronary bypass surgery. This study was performed to determine the optimum cut-off point for a positive Allen's test and the clinical reliability of Allen's test in this role.

METHODS: Patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery were examined by independent observers using both Allen's test and a Doppler ultrasound test of the ulnar collateral circulation.

RESULTS: We examined 93 hands in 47 patients; mean age was 63.6 years. Receiver operating characteristic analysis found that at a conventional cut-off of 6 seconds on Allen's test had a sensitivity of 54.5%, specificity of 91.7%, and diagnostic accuracy of 78.5%. At a cut-off of 5 seconds diagnostic accuracy was maximal (79.6%), with sensitivity of 75.8% and specificity of 81.7%; 100% sensitivity occurred at a cut-off of 3 seconds, with specificity of 27% and diagnostic accuracy of 52%.

CONCLUSIONS: At no cut-off point does Allen's test perform satisfactorily as a discriminatory test. It should be replaced by more objective tests, such as Doppler ultrasound.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app