[Method for prolonged hemodynamic and respiratory monitoring. I. Technical study involving 45 patients]

The authors describe a method for haemodynamic and respiratory surveillance which they applied to 45 severely ill patients in circulatory and/or respiratory distress. Only an arterial and central venous catheter are necessary. They are used to measure arterial and venous blood gas levels as well as cardiac output by dye dilution. Long term surveillance is made possible by the absence of a Swan-Ganz catheter. Periods were as 7 to 35 days with a mean of 12.6 days, during which 910 assessments were made with the use of 64 arterial catheters and 71 venous catheters. The method reduces the prevalence of itrogenic accidents complicating the course of these severely ill patients and considerably lowers the cost of such surveillance. No specifically related complications were seen, problems being limited to the usual percentage of complications due to arterial and venous catheters.