The peri-operative measurement of cardiac output in infancy by the thermodilution technique.

Cardiac output has been measured in infants by thermodilution during and after surgery. A method employing commerically available equipment has been developed. An animal model has been devised whereby right heart outputs of 210 ml to 2240 ml, measured by thermodilution, could be compared with left heart outputs measured by an aortic by-pass. The results of this study suggest that thermodilution is a simple, accurate method for measurement of cardiac output in infancy.