AJP - Endocrinology and Metabolism, Vol 263, Issue 5 E1010-E1014, Copyright © 1992 by American Physiological Society
Heated dorsal hand vein sampling for metabolic studies: a reappraisal
K. C. Copeland, F. A. Kenney and K. S. Nair
Department of Pediatrics, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington 05405.
The purpose of the current study was to determine the accuracy of a given
heated dorsal hand vein (HDHV) measurement in predicting a simultaneous
arterial measurement and to validate this technique for use in stable
isotope studies. Twenty catheterizations of the femoral artery, femoral
vein, and a dorsal hand vein were performed in 13 healthy male subjects.
Simultaneous blood samples were obtained from all three sites during primed
continuous infusions of L-[1-13C]leucine (Leu) and
L-[ring-2H5]phenylalanine (Phe) in the postabsorptive state, with or
without intravenous glucose infusion. Relationships were examined by linear
regression analysis, with 95% prediction intervals for femoral arterial
values determined using the HDHV-derived values as independent variable.
Glucose concentrations and isotopic enrichments of ketoisocaproate (KIC),
Leu, and Phe were similar in HDHV- and arterial-derived blood, with slopes
between 0.9414 and 1.0008, intercepts not different from zero, and r2
values of 0.7613 or greater (P < 0.05). Intercepts for KIC, Leu, and Phe
concentrations all were different from zero (P < 0.05), and slopes
ranged between 0.7560 and 0.8625. For each analysis the HDHV sample
correlated better with the femoral arterial sample than with the femoral
venous sample. These data support the use of HDHV sampling as a surrogate
for direct arterial sampling but document significant limitations in the
technique.
