Heart & lung : the journal of critical care
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No published studies focus on determining the frequency of dysrhythmias during pulmonary artery catheter removal by use of a standard technique. The objective was to assess the incidence and hemodynamic effect of dysrhythmias in patients who had recently undergone cardiac surgery (within 24 hours of when dysrhythmia was noted). ⋯ The use of a standard technique for pulmonary artery catheter removal demonstrated a 2% incidence of nonsustained ventricular tachycardia associated with transient hypotension. Fewer incidences of dysrhythmias were noted in the patients (4 of 29) who had abnormal serum potassium levels, abnormal pH, or pharmacologic association during catheter removal in comparison with those patients without this association (15 patients of 71). No statistically significant difference was noted in the incidence of dysrhythmia during pulmonary artery catheter removal between these 2 groups (chi(2) = 0.72, P =.39).