Journal of clinical monitoring and computing
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J Clin Monit Comput · Dec 1998
Clinical TrialPerioperative tissue thickness measurement by a new miniature ultrasound device.
A recently developed mini ultrasound device for measurement of peripheral tissue thickness is now available for use in clinical practice. Whether this device allows a better guidance of perioperative fluid therapy has to be investigated. Therefore, it is necessary to get basic data on the parameter tissue thickness in otherwise healthy patients during surgery. The aim of the present study was to evaluate differences in tissue thickness change between patients in supine and head down position with a novel handheld ultrasound device during the perioperative course of healthy surgical patients under a standardized fluid regimen. ⋯ The findings suggest that fluid replacement after an NPO period and the expected changes of forehead TT due to positioning of the patient are detectable by this new ultrasound device.
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J Clin Monit Comput · Dec 1998
Use of an automated anesthesia information system to determine reference limits for vital signs during cesarean section.
We evaluated whether automated anesthesia information systems can be used to calculate reference limits (population-based "normal values") for vital signs. We considered four populations of women undergoing cesarean section: healthy under spinal anesthesia, healthy under general anesthesia, pre-eclamptic/eclamptic under spinal anesthesia, and pre-eclamptic/eclamptic under general anesthesia. ⋯ Automated anesthesia information systems can be used to determine reference limits for vital signs during anesthesia. Reference limits may play a role in malpractice cases when an expert claims that care by an anesthesiologist was sub-standard as shown by vital signs that were not maintained within the normal range during the critical portions of an anesthetic. Automated anesthesia information systems may enhance expert witnesses' clinical judgment.
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J Clin Monit Comput · Dec 1998
Comparative Study Clinical TrialMeasurement of blood concentration of indocyanine green by pulse dye densitometry--comparison with the conventional spectrophotometric method.
Pulse dye densitometry (PDD) uses two wavelengths (805 and 890 nm) in association with pulse oximetry to compute the arterial blood concentration ratio of indocyanine green (ICG) to hemoglobin (Hb). When Hb is measured in the usual way, this permits the PDD to compute cardiac output, plasma or blood volume, and liver blood flow following an intravenous injection of ICG. In this study, we evaluate the accuracy of the PDD calculation of dye concentration by comparing it with measurement of the dye concentration in blood (Cb) measured by the spectrophotometric cuvette method during dye clearance in patients. ⋯ These errors are of similar size to those associated with thermal cardiac output measurement, suggesting that PDD should be valuable clinically as a noninvasive tool especially since it provides values for blood volume and liver blood flow.