Arterial line

“Excited to share three new ICU #OnePagers on a couple important critical care topics: acid base, arterial lines, and EVDs. Lots of nerdy fun here including Winter's formula, Lundberg waves, and pulsus alternans. Also an updated version of the ARDS OnePager. #FOAMed #FOAMcc”

Procedures can be a highlight of a medical student's day. Make sure you're ready when opportunity presents itself! Brush up on the basics of arterial line placement.

The arterial pressure wave (which is what you see there) is a pressure wave; it travels much faster than the actual blood which is ejected. It represents the impulse of left ventricular contraction, conducted though the aortic valve and vessels along a fluid column (of blood), then up a catheter, then up another fluid column (of hard tubing) and finally into your Wheatstone bridge transducer. A high fidelity pressure transducer can discern fine detail in the shape of the arterial pulse…

Arterial line square wave testing