Question

Which statement is true in regard to performing the cardiac output measurement?

A) Connect thermodilution kit to distal (yellow) port, making sure to deair the fluid bag.
B) To calculate body surface area (BSA), thus cardiac index (CI), the weight and the height of the patient are needed along with a computation constant specific for the catheter in use.
C) One measurement of cardiac output is appropriate if the value is similar to the previous measurement.
D) Cardiac output measurement can be performed during cardiopulmonary bypass.
E) The cardiac output measurement with the use of PAC by the change of temperature of injectate is called the "Fick principle."

Answer 1

The true statement regarding cardiac output measurement is that the body surface area and the computation constant for the catheter are required to calculate the cardiac index, which is based on the patient's weight and height.

Step-by-step explanation:

When performing the cardiac output measurement, the correct statement is: B) To calculate body surface area (BSA), thus cardiac index (CI), the weight and the height of the patient are needed along with a computation constant specific for the catheter in use.

This is because the cardiac index is a refinement of the cardiac output measurement that takes into account a patient's body size. Therefore, it requires the patient's weight and height to calculate the BSA, which is then used to calculate the CI, providing a more tailored measure of heart function.

Note: The Fick principle is a different method that measures cardiac output based on the concentration of oxygen in the blood and the patient's oxygen consumption, not by the change of temperature of injectate as mentioned in option E.