Cardiopulmonary Monitoring of Critically Ill Patients

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Abstract
Arterial LinesArterial lines are indicated for continuous monitoring of blood pressure and for very frequent sampling of arterial blood. Inserting arterial lines is a relatively safe and inexpensive procedure. Major complications include infection and thrombosis. The rate of catheter-associated sepsis (demonstrated by positive cultures of blood and the catheter tip that yield the same organism, with no other apparent source of infection) is about 4 per cent.16 Sepsis is more likely with surgical cutdowns if the catheter is left in place for more than four days or if evidence of local inflammation is present. The pressure transducer or flushing . . .