This study evaluated the effectiveness of applying moving average processing when comparing CCI with beat-to-beat cardiac indices exhibiting different response times, namely esCCI and APCI. We confirmed that esCCI achieved an acceptable concordance rate when a moving average of 20–30 minutes was applied, while APCI demonstrated a high concordance rate within the 21–27-minute range (Fig. 3(A)).
We further explored the underlying mechanisms of moving average effects, specifically decomposing them into time shift and filtering components. As shown in Fig. 4(B), the mean polar angle crossed zero at t = 8 minutes due to filtering, subsequently shifting further into the negative direction. Figure 4(C) demonstrated that the decrease in polar angle SD up to t = 24 minutes was primarily attributed to time shift effects; beyond this point, filtering effects predominated. These findings suggest that moving averages exert their influence through a combination of time shift and signal smoothing (filtering).
Both the mean polar angle and the correlation coefficient between the difference (Y-axis) and mean (X-axis) values in the Bland-Altman analysis shifted toward the negative direction as τ increased. In esCCI, zero crossings occurred at t = 12 minutes for both the mean polar angle and the correlation coefficient. In APCI, the zero crossing of the mean polar angle occurred at t = 19 minutes, while that of the correlation coefficient occurred earlier at t = 8 minutes. The alignment of zero crossings in esCCI suggests a correspondence between systematic (proportional) error in Bland-Altman analysis and the mean polar angle in polar plot analysis, as previously described [21].
Although polar angle SD decreased with increasing τ beyond 30 minutes in polar plot analysis (Fig. 3(C)), the SD of the Bland-Altman analysis increased (Fig. 3(E)). This discrepancy prompted further comparison between polar plot analyses conducted with and without an exclusion zone. Specifically, we compared results using an exclusion zone of 0.6 L/min/m² versus 0.0 L/min/m². As seen in Fig. 5(C), omitting the exclusion zone increased polar angle SD.
These results suggest that, at τ > 30 minutes, the amplitude of esCCI was significantly attenuated, and the time shift was further prolonged, resulting in greater divergence between CCI and esCCI. Consequently, the SD in the Bland-Altman analysis and the polar angle SD without exclusion increased. However, since the magnitude of changes in both CCI and moving-averaged esCCI decreased as τ increased, the number of excluded data points (i.e., exclusion rate) also rose. This increasing exclusion rate contributed to the observed reduction in polar angle SD when an exclusion zone of 0.6 L/min/m² was applied. Appendix 1 further illustrates the relationship between exclusion rate and polar angle SD, confirming that higher exclusion rates consistently yielded lower SD values.
Overall, this study applied moving averages to facilitate a more accurate comparison of trending ability between CCI and other cardiac output indices with differing time responses. The optimal moving average duration (t) for achieving a concordance rate above 92% between CCI and esCCI was found to be 20–30 minutes. Critchley et al. [2] proposed a threshold of 92% concordance when using a 15% exclusion zone based on mean CO; our findings support this criterion within the specified t range. Although APCI did not reach the 92% threshold, it approached 90% within 21–27 minutes (Fig. 3(A)).
The wide variability in effective moving average times suggests that multiple factors may contribute to the delayed response observed in CCI. These include technical aspects such as the thermal filament heating algorithm [1, 23], clinical conditions like mitral regurgitation [1, 24], and physiological changes associated with bleeding or resuscitation [3, 26].
Given the variability and uncertainty in delay times, CCO alone may be insufficient for clinical decision-making. As noted by Mihm et al. [26], the reliability of CCO is condition-dependent and should be interpreted alongside other continuous hemodynamic parameters.
Oh et al. [14] assessed the trending ability of APCO and CCO using R-squared-based time adjustments for APCO. However, their four-quadrant plot analysis yielded unacceptably low concordance. As shown in Fig. 4(A), simple time shifting did not achieve satisfactory results in our study either, emphasizing the advantage of moving averages, which incorporate both time shift and filtering.
Takakura et al. [15] compared esCCO and CCO values before and after extubation in ICU patients, with and without applying a 20-minute moving average to esCCO. They reported that moving averaging reduced the SD of the difference between the two indices, supporting our current findings, although they did not employ polar plot analysis.
Study Limitations (Rewritten)
A primary limitation of this study was the lack of detailed information regarding the specific averaging algorithm employed by the CCO monitor. We inferred that the observed response delay was attributable to a moving average process. Accordingly, the objective of this report was to evaluate the effectiveness of applying moving average processing when assessing trending ability between two monitors with differing response times.
Another limitation concerns the unequal number of data points analyzed across different t (moving average window) values. This discrepancy arose due to two factors:
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Larger t values resulted in delayed start times and earlier end times for output data, thereby reducing the total number of available data points.
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The moving average was not computed if the averaging window included even a single missing value. As τ increased, the likelihood of encountering such missing data also rose, further reducing the number of usable data points.
A key challenge for future research is to determine how best to mitigate the effects of data loss and delayed signal responsiveness introduced by large time averaging windows (τ), which can obscure physiologically relevant changes and affect method comparisons. Clear, enough?
Finally, although Critchley et al. [27] recommend that the polar mean angle remain within ± 5° and the radial limits of agreement within ± 30° when comparing CO monitors against thermodilution reference measurements, we focused on trending ability using a single index—namely, the polar concordance rate at 30°.