Doppler velocimetry of the ophthalmic artery: reproducibility of blood flow velocity measurements

The aim of this study was to investigate the interobserver reliability for measuring ophthalmic artery Doppler indices. Healthy women (n = 30) were evaluated. The resistive index, pulsatility index, and peak ratio were determined by two independent observers who were blind to each other. A paired t test was used for the comparison of paired samples in the cases of replication between observers. Pearson product-moment correlation was used to study the relationship between the samples. The Bland-Altman graphic approach was used to investigate the agreement between observers. No significant differences were found between the values obtained by the two independent observers for the resistive index and pulsatility index. The difference observed between the values obtained by the observers for the peak ratio was 0.02. Doppler velocimetry is a reproducible technique for evaluation of the resistive index and pulsatility index. For analysis of the peak ratio, an interval of ±0.02 should be considered for the measurement.