ICU SAQs · Haemodynamic monitoring
First Part — the physics of invasive arterial pressure monitoring
A CICM First-Part (basic sciences) SAQ on the arterial line — the physics the College loves. The candidate explains the fluid-coupled transducer, the need for zeroing to atmospheric pressure and levelling to the right atrium, the natural frequency and damping of the system, the under-damped (resonant, over-reading systolic) versus over-damped (slurred, under-reading systolic) trace, and the fast-flush square-wave test that diagnoses them.
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Prompt
Describe the principles of invasive arterial pressure monitoring, including the transducer system, the sources of error in the waveform, and how you would identify and correct them.
Question
Describe the principles of invasive arterial pressure monitoring, including the transducer system, the sources of error in the waveform, and how you would identify and correct them. (10 marks)
References2ShowHide
- [1]Bersten AD, Soni N (eds) Oh's Intensive Care Manual. 8th edition, Elsevier, 2018.
- [2]Marino PL The ICU Book. 4th edition, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2014.