Day-to-Day Change in Pulsatility Index Describes Anterior Cerebral Circulation Disturbance and Functional Outcomes in Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury.

The final analysis included 40 children after screening a convenience sample and excluding children without serial bilateral measurements, one child with unilateral measurements, and two extreme values. Only nine children had intracranial pressure monitoring, so pulsatility changes could not be compared with intracranial pressure. The day-to-day change was converted to an absolute value, so the data cannot show whether pulsatility was rising or falling. The sidedness findings rested on small numbers, with only nine children showing the same-side pattern. The study reports descriptive group averages from an exploratory design, so it cannot establish that a particular pulsatility change caused worse outcome or that acting on the measurement improves care.

Do not use day-to-day pulsatility index change as a test that can guide individual nursing decisions. The study reports small descriptive group averages from 40 children, and the authors describe the findings as early evidence rather than proof that monitoring with this measure changes outcomes.