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The current practice of cardiac output monitoring in critically ill patients was surveyed in 226 adult intensive care units in England and Wales. The response rate was 76% (n=171). Among the responding units, 96% used cardiac output monitoring routinely and 60% had access to more than one monitoring technique. Pulmonary artery catheters were no longer used in one third of the units. More than half of the units (57%) had moved to less invasive techniques. Oesophageal Doppler was used by 35% of the responding units, Lithium indicator Dilution Cardiac Output (LiDCO) by 22% and Pulse-induced Contour Cardiac Output (PiCCO) in 20%. Sixty-one percent of the lead clinicians felt that cardiac output monitoring may alter patient outcome. Two-thirds of units (68%) use superior vena cava oxygen saturation (ScvO2) during initial resuscitation of patients with severe sepsis or septic shock.

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