Estimation of the prevalence of isolated inter-scalene compression from simultaneous arterial and venous photoplethysmography in patients referred for suspected thoracic outlet syndrome.

Objective.In patients with suspected thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS), diagnosing inter-scalene compression could lead to minimally invasive treatments. During photo-plethysmography, completing a 30 s 90° abduction, external rotation ('surrender' position) by addition of a 15 s 90° antepulsion 'prayer' position, allows quantitative bilateral analysis of both arterial (A-PPG) and venous (V-PPG) results. We aimed at determining the proportion of isolated arterial compression with photo-plethysmography in TOS-suspected patients.Approach.We studied 116 subjects recruited over 4 months (43.3 ± 11.8 years old, 69% females). Fingertip A-PPG and forearm V-PPG were recorded on both sides at 125 Hz and 4 Hz respectively. A-PPG was converted to PPG amplitude and expressed as percentage of resting amplitude (% rest). V-PPG was expressed as percentage of the maximal value (% max) observed during the 'Surrender-Prayer' maneuver. Impairment of arterial inflow during the surrender (As+) or prayer (Ap+) phases were defined as a pulse-amplitude either <5% rest, or <25% rest. Incomplete venous emptying during the surrender (Vs+) or prayer (Vp+) phases were defined as V-PPG values either <70% max, or <87% max.Main results.Of the 16 possible associations of encodings, As - Vs - Ap - Vp- was the most frequent observation assumed to be a normal response. Isolated arterial inflow without venous outflow (As + Vs-) impairment in the surrender position was observed in 10.3% (95%CI: 6.7%-15.0%) to 15.1% (95%CI: 10.7%-20.4%) of limbs.Significance.Simultaneous A-PPG and V-PPG can discriminate arterial from venous compression and then potentially inter-scalene from other levels of compressions. As such, it opens new perspectives in evaluation and treatment of TOS.