An evaluation of the pulse-contour method of measuring cardiac output

The pulse-contour (PC) method continuously derives the cardiac output in litres per minute from the arterial pressure wave form by using a portable analogue computer. The reliability of the PC method in determining cardiac output was studied in 6 patients during anaesthetic induction for cardiac surgery. The results obtained with the PC method using the radial artery to register the arterial pulse wave were compared with cardiac output measurements using the more conventional thermodilution technique. The PC method would seem to offer a simple, clinically useful method for on-line monitoring of short-term variations in cardiac output.