Thoracic electrical bioimpedance versus suprasternal Doppler in emergency care

Area of Science:

• Critical care medicine
• Cardiovascular physiology
• Medical device technology

Background:

• Cardiac output (CO) monitoring is crucial in emergency departments (EDs).
• Thoracic electrical bioimpedance and suprasternal Doppler are promising non-invasive CO monitoring methods.
• Direct comparisons between these two methods in emergency settings are lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of using suprasternal Doppler and bioimpedance for CO monitoring in emergency care.
• To compare hemodynamic data obtained from both suprasternal Doppler and bioimpedance monitors.
• To evaluate the interchangeability of these non-invasive CO monitoring techniques.

Main Methods:

• Hemodynamic measurements were performed on the same patient cohort.
• Utilized bioimpedance (Niccomo, Medis, Germany) and suprasternal Doppler (USCOM, Sydney, Australia) for data acquisition.
• Assessed the usability and comparability of data from both devices.

Main Results:

• Supratemporal Doppler yielded usable CO data in 97% of patients, while bioimpedance provided usable data in 87%.
• Median CO measurements were 3.4 L/min lower with suprasternal Doppler compared to bioimpedance.
• Median stroke volume was 51 mL lower when measured by suprasternal Doppler.

Conclusions:

• The two non-invasive cardiac monitoring methods, suprasternal Doppler and bioimpedance, are not interchangeable.
• The selection of an appropriate non-invasive cardiac monitor is significant in emergency care.
• Further research is needed to establish clear criteria for choosing between these monitoring technologies.