European journal of clinical pharmacology
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Eur. J. Clin. Pharmacol. · Jun 2006
Comparative Study Clinical TrialEstimation of cardiac output in a pharmacological trial using a simple method based on arterial blood pressure signal waveform: a comparison with pulmonary thermodilution and echocardiographic methods.
Cardiac output (CO) has traditionally been measured using invasive techniques, which involve an element of risk. Thus, a reliable less-invasive method for determining CO would be very valuable for research use. We tested whether simple analysis of the arterial pulse waveform, not requiring large-vessel catheterisation or expensive equipment, could provide an estimate of CO that is accurate enough for pharmacological studies. ⋯ The minimally invasive pulse contour analysis technique might be suitable for pharmacological studies for the detection of major drug-induced reductions in CO.