Hemodynamic Monitoring in the Acute Management of Pediatric Heart Failure

One of the basic tenets of cardiac critical care is to ensure adequate tissue oxygenation. As with other critical illness such as trauma and acute myocardial infarction studies have demonstrated that making the right diagnosis at the right time improves outcomes. The same is true for the management of patients at risk for or in a state of shock. In order to optimize outcomes an accurate and timely assessment of cardiac function, cardiac output and tissue oxygenation must be made. This review discusses the limitations of the standard assessment of cardiovascular function, and adjunctive monitoring modalities that may be used to enhance the accuracy and timely implementation of therapeutic strategies to improve tissue oxygenation.