title: Monitoring resuscitation of the injured patient.
abstract: Physicians are being called on with increasing frequency to initiate resuscitation of the severely injured patient. The medical literature is confusing regarding the best way that this can be done. A study was undertaken to evaluate simultaneously four common, easily measured indexes--blood pressure, pulse rate, central venous pressure, and pulmonary artery pressure. A shock-trauma model employing laboratory-bred beagle dogs was developed. Results indicate that the best single index is pulmonary artery pressure. Certain physiologic principles make central venous pressure an unreliable index.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002496:Central Venous Pressure; D004285:Dogs; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000503:physiopathology; D011674:Pulse; D012151:Resuscitation; D012769:Shock / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*