Anest. intenziv. Med. 2015;26(4):228-232

Echocardiography for cardiac output assessment in critically ill patientsEchodidaktika

M. Lipš^1,*, J. Krupička², J. Kořínek³, J. Kunstýř¹

¹ Klinika anesteziologie, resuscitace a intenzivní medicíny 1. LF, Univerzita Karlova v Prazea Všeobecná fakultní nemocnice v Praze

² III. interní klinika 1. LF, Univerzita Karlova v Praze a Všeobecná fakultní nemocnice v Praze

³ II. interní klinika 1. LF, Univerzita Karlova v Praze a Všeobecná fakultní nemocnice v Praze

Haemodynamic assessment of critically ill patients is an essential diagnostic step for verification of sufficient organ perfusion and oxygen delivery and, moreover, one of the most important tasks of critical care medicine. During the last decades, cardiac output measurement has become a cornerstone topic with simultaneous development of various methods for its continuous or intermittent monitoring. Echocardiography has been recognized as a non-invasive, nevertheless accurate method for the cardiac output measurement. It is especially important to understand the basic principles of ultrasound in order to use echocardiography properly, and to realize not only its advantages but also its limits to avoid possible errors or misinterpretations of the measurements.

Keywords: echocardiography; stroke volume; cardiac output; pulsed Doppler

Received: May 11, 2015; Accepted: May 11, 2015; Published: August 1, 2015  Show citation