Journal of clinical monitoring and computing
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J Clin Monit Comput · May 1998
Use of a neonatal blood pressure cuff to monitor blood pressure in the adult finger--comparison with a standard adult arm cuff.
There are few suitable methods for monitoring blood pressure continuously (or intermittently) for research in adult stroke patients, who are ill but do not justify invasive intensive care monitoring. ⋯ The reproducibility of sequential blood pressure measurements made with the finger cuff was better than with the arm cuff. The performance of the finger cuff compared with that of the arm cuff was sufficiently good to encourage use of the finger cuff in research involving automatic intermittent monitoring to observe sequential blood pressures over time in stroke patients. However, measurements of systolic and diastolic pressure were not the same with the two cuffs and further work on calibration of the finger cuff would be useful.
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J Clin Monit Comput · May 1998
Performance of a plastic optical fiber stylet for tracheal intubation of a dog.
We set out to establish whether a novel plastic optical fiber incorporated into an endotracheal tube (ETT) stylet could be used for intubation of a dog. A secondary objective examined the need for a direct illumination source from a laryngoscope. Lastly, the fragility of the system was tested. ⋯ A novel plastic optical fiber incorporated into an ETT stylet can be used with a laryngoscope for intubation of a dog. Direct illumination from a laryngoscope provides a better television monitor image than when only ambient light is used. The system was durable, withstanding over 20 uses and 40 sharp bend-and-straighten cycles before a lens separation failure occurred.
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J Clin Monit Comput · May 1998
A cross-validated multifactorial index of perioperative risks in adults undergoing anaesthesia for non-cardiac surgery. Analysis of perioperative events in 26907 anaesthetic procedures.
To develop a severity index of anaesthetic risk that predicts relevant perioperative adverse events in adults. ⋯ The index seems to reflect the risk of relevant perioperative incidents. It can be used for audit purposes. In daily routine, the index could focus our attention on patients with increased perioperative risk. However, it is limited in detecting particular constellations of factors which interact on each other with regard to perioperative risk.
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J Clin Monit Comput · May 1998
Functional residual capacity measurement during tracheal gas insufflation.
Tracheal gas insufflation (TGI) is considered an adjunctive method to enhance carbon dioxide elimination during permissive hypercapnia in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome. Due to increasing tidal volume and/or expiratory resistance, TGI may cause intrinsic PEEP (PEEPi), and may lessen the advantages of permissive hypercapnia. There is no reliable method to measure PEEPi during TGI. Using an argon washout method to evaluate dynamic hyperinflation, we developed a method to measure FRC with TGI flow. ⋯ The system developed in this study can be used as a method to detect air-trapping during TGI.
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J Clin Monit Comput · May 1998
Applying human factors to the design of medical equipment: patient-controlled analgesia.
Medical instruments commonly have poorly designed user interfaces that promote human errors with life-threatening consequences. The primary hypothesis of this study was that a specific user interface could be made safer and more efficient if redesigned using human factors techniques and principles. ⋯ Adopting a human factors approach to redesigning the PCA interface led to significantly faster, easier, and more reliable performance. These findings have important implications for improving the design of other computer-based medical equipment.