Effect of room temperature on percentage finger systolic blood pressure response to finger cooling

Percentage finger systolic blood pressure (%FSBP) in response to finger cooling is used to assess vascular components of the hand-arm vibration syndrome and the measurement method is under discussion for standardization. It has been suggested that measurement circumstances including room temperature may affect %FSBP. We investigated the effect of room temperature on %FSBP response to finger cooling in healthy subjects. Six healthy male subjects who were medical students volunteered for the study. Multi-channel plethysmograph was used for simultaneous multi-finger FSBP measurements. The examination room was kept at 21±1°C and 25±1°C, and the subjects were randomly assigned. Percentage finger systolic blood pressures for the index, middle, ring and little fingers at 15°C and 10°C cuff-water temperatures were calculated. Four-way analysis of variance was performed to determine the independent effect of subject, room temperature, finger and cuff-water temperature factors on %FSBP. The room temperature as an independent factor affecting %FSBP was statistically significant (P<0.01). From the results, it can be concluded that %FSBP response to finger cooling in healthy subjects may be affected by room temperature. Therefore, room temperature is expected to be controlled when assessing peripheral vascular components of the upper extremities using %FSBP response to finger cooling.