Impact of hemodynamic monitoring on clinical outcomes

In recent years, there has been a tremendous growth in available hemodynamic monitoring devices to support clinical decision-making in the operating room and intensive care unit. In addition to the "tried and true" heart rate and blood pressure monitors, there are several newer applications of existing technologies including arterial waveform analysis, intraoperative and bedside critical care echocardiography, esophageal Doppler, and tissue oximetry, among others. Several monitoring devices demonstrate positive effect on outcomes, especially when used in conjunction with specific goal-directed therapy protocols to achieve a desired clinical effect. Other devices remain in the validation stage, awaiting comprehensive comparison to established techniques. While these new technologies offer promising advances in intraoperative and critical care, they are often quite costly and many devices lack strong evidence for widespread adoption into clinical practice. In this review, we highlight the current data on clinical outcomes with the use of available hemodynamic monitoring devices.