II. Epidemiology
- Inadequate collateral flow in 3% hospitalized patients
III. Causes of Inadequate Ulnar Circulation
- Normal anatomic variant
- Hypothenar Hammer Syndrome
IV. Indications
- Test wrist collateral Blood Flow
- Arterial Puncture for Arterial Blood Gas
V. Technique
- Patient elevates hand and makes a fist for 20 seconds
- Firm pressure held against radial and ulnar arteries
- Patient opens hand and should blanche white
- Examiner releases only ulnar compression
VI. Normal Result
- Hand color flushes within 5 to 7 seconds
VII. Abnormal result: Inadequate collateral circulation
- Hand remains white until radial pressure released
- Risk of serious hand ischemia if radial vessel spasm
VIII. Alternative means for assessing collateral circulation
- Doppler Ultrasound
- Finger plethysmography
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Related Studies
| Concepts | Diagnostic Procedure (T060) |
| SnomedCT | 57888003 |
| Italian | Test di Allen |
| Japanese | アレン試験, ｱﾚﾝｼｹﾝ |
| English | Allen's test (physical finding), Allen test, allen's test, Allen's test, Allen's test (procedure) |
| Czech | Allenův test |
| Hungarian | Allen vizsgálat |
| Spanish | prueba de Allen (procedimiento), prueba de Allen, Prueba de Allen |
| Portuguese | Teste de Allen |
| Dutch | Allen-test |
| French | Test d'Allen |
| German | Allen-Test |
