A review of intraoperative goal-directed therapy using arterial waveform analysis for assessment of cardiac output.

Increasing evidence shows that goal-directed hemodynamic management can improve outcomes in surgical and intensive care settings. Arterial waveform analysis is one of the different techniques used for guiding goal-directed therapy. Multiple proprietary systems have developed algorithms for obtaining cardiac output from an arterial waveform, including the FloTrac, LiDCO, and PiCCO systems. These systems vary in terms of how they analyze the arterial pressure waveform as well as their requirements for invasive line placement and calibration. Although small-scale clinical trials using these monitors show promising data, large-scale multicenter trials are still needed to better determine how intraoperative goal-directed therapy with arterial waveform analysis can improve patient outcomes. This review provides a comparative analysis of the different arterial waveform monitors for intraoperative goal-directed therapy.