The lives of critically ill patients with hemodynamic instability depend on the right decision regarding the next therapeutic step. Advanced hemodynamic monitoring helps to identify targeted and patient-individualized therapy.
Limitations of Basic Monitoring
Monitoring physiological parameters of cardiovascular function is a decisive factor for a goal-directed management of critically ill patients.
Basic monitoring reaches its limits in cases of hemodynamic instability caused by organ failure or major surgical procedures. In such situations, a patient's condition can deteriorate rapidly within a very short time. For a differentiated assessment of the circulatory situation, standard parameters such as ECG, blood pressure measurement, and pulse oximetry are no longer sufficient to reliably evaluate cardiac output (CO) and oxygen transport for targeted, individualized therapy.
More differentiated assessment through advanced hemodynamic monitoring
Advanced hemodynamic monitoring provides additional and significantly more precise information about the cardiovascular system, such as blood flow, volume status, vascular tone, and cardiac function. Through the continuous monitoring and analysis of the shape and the area under the arterial pressure curve (pulse contour analysis), the structural and mechanical properties of the vascular system, and the physical properties of the blood, a differentiated assessment of the circulatory situation can be performed at any time, and targeted therapy can be initiated.
In addition, the extravascular lung water index (ELWI) enables bedside assessment of pulmonary edema, allowing early therapeutic intervention [1] [2] [3].
Advanced hemodynamic monitoring enables answers to the following questions:
- What is the current cardiovascular status?
- What are the cardiac preload and afterload?
- Will an increase in preload result in higher cardiac output (does the patient respond to fluid administration)?
- Should fluids or catecholamines be administered?
- Is there a risk of fluid overload?
- Is the patient developing pulmonary edema?
By using advanced hemodynamic monitoring, clinicians are continuously informed about changes in the patient’s condition. As a result, treatment can be adjusted immediately and in a targeted manner, and patient-specific therapy can be carried out with optimal use of fluids, inotropes, and vasoactive substances. Clinical evidence has long shown that hemodynamic optimization as part of a goal-directed therapy approach (“Early Goal-Directed Therapy,” EGDT) reduces complications and morbidity, shortens length of stay, and saves costs. [4] [5] [6].
Typical indications for the use of advanced hemodynamic monitoring in both intensive care and anesthesia include:
- Septic shock
- Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
- Cardiogenic shock
- Severe burns
- Polytrauma
- Pancreatitis
- High-risk surgical procedures
The principles of transpulmonary thermodilution and arterial pulse contour analysis enable the calculation of these advanced hemodynamic parameters and have been clinically tested and established for more than 20 years [7] [8].