Invasive hemodynamic monitoring. Hospitals need to develop guidelines for its appropriate use

There is a small but clearly established and significant rate of morbidity and mortality related to using flow-directed pulmonary artery catheters for patient monitoring in critical care units and during complex surgical procedures. The extent of these complications (many of which are due to poor user technique), increasing criticism of the routine use of these catheters, and the growing availability of less invasive, lower-risk technologies that can supply some of the same clinical information all argue persuasively for hospitals to formulate or reexamine guidelines for appropriate use of invasive hemodynamic monitoring.