Abstract 302: First of It's Kind Capillary Refill Monitoring Device to Guide Resuscitation
Background: Capillary refill is an early reflection of decreased end organ perfusion resulting in shunt of blood from the extremities to vital organs. Physicians rate this as the most important factor to guide therapeutic resuscitation efforts. However, literature shows that providers have significant variability in their bedside measurement of capillary refill. Objective: The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a novel technology to detect capillary refill in a noninvasive and rapid manner through an iterative, problem-based innovation approach. Methods: This was a prospective study at a level 1 tertiary care hospital of patients presenting to an emergency department. The research team used in a new technology that utilizes light transmission and pressure to objectively quantify extremity capillary refill time. This measurement was compared to manual refill time performed by a trained study provider. Results: Through an iterative approach the team developed a platform technology and enrolled 63 subjects in this prospective trial. 9 subjects had inadequate data and so the final cohort consisted of 54 subjects with both manual capillary refill time and the new novel technology measurement. The device measured capillary refill time showed a high degree of correlation to manual estimate of capillary refill time with a Pearson coefficient of 0.7. Conclusions: Novel technology to measure capillary refill time can significantly improve the treatment and care of multiple medical conditions that rely on timely diagnosis and initiation of resuscitation in the emergency department and other care settings. This study shows a modest correlation of technology with automated signal processing algorithms for noninvasive measurement of capillary refill. Integration of this technology into standard hospital monitors has broad applicability to make capillary refill a standard vital sign.