• Kris Gommeren, Fergus J Allerton, Elise Morin, Arthur Reynaud, Dominique Peeters, and Deborah C Silverstein.
• Department of Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Belgium.
• J Vet Emerg Crit Care (San Antonio). 2014 Sep 1; 24 (5): 554-61.

ObjectiveTo appraise a novel scoring system (Bedside Evaluation of Microcirculation [BEM]) to provide qualitative and semiquantitative assessment of canine microcirculatory videos generated by sidestream dark field imaging.DesignProspective observational study.SettingUniversity teaching hospital.AnimalsNo animals were used in this study. Twenty microcirculatory videos (>20 s in length) acquired from the mucosa adjacent to the upper canine tooth of dogs were selected from a database of sidestream dark field microcirculatory videos with available current standard analysis (CSA).InterventionThree observers were trained to evaluate 5 video quality parameters (stability, content, illumination, focus, and pressure) and four perfusion parameters (total vessel density [TVD], capillary vessel density [CVD], perfused vessel density [PVD] and microvascular flow index [MFI]). Quality parameters were scored (excellent [0], sufficient [1], and insufficient [2]) similar to CSA recommendations. Each perfusion parameter was subjectively scored (1 lowest - 5 highest) using sample clips from the training video for comparison. Videos passed quality analysis if no parameter was scored insufficient. Repeatability and reproducibility were evaluated by assessing all films in a random order three times daily for 3 days. Strength of correlation of BEM with CSA for both qualitative and semiquantitative parameters was assessed.Measurements And Main ResultsThe qualitative evaluation pass/fail assessment matched CSA 86% of the time with individual observer agreements of 84-88%. Agreement with CSA did not change significantly over the study period (84%, 88%, and 84% on days 1, 2, and 3, respectively). No significant correlations were demonstrated between any BEM perfusion parameter and the corresponding CSA values.ConclusionsRapid bedside assessment of microcirculatory video quality can be achieved. However, semiquantitative analysis by BEM demonstrated a lack of correlation with CSA for any of the perfusion parameters assessed.© Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society 2014.

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