Can femoral artery pressure monitoring be used routinely in cardiac surgery?
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety of femoral arterial pressure monitoring in cardiac surgery. DESIGN: Prospective, observational study. SETTING: Cardiac surgery unit (CSU) in a university hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Of a total of 2,350 consecutive patients scheduled for elective cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass, 2,264 patients with femoral artery pressure monitoring were included. INTERVENTIONS: A femoral arterial catheter was inserted percutaneously before the induction of anesthesia. The catheter was withdrawn 40 to 96 hours after surgery. It was replaced by a radial artery catheter in patients staying for more than 4 days in the CSU or in case of pulse loss or lower limb ischemia. The catheter was removed and sent for cultures whenever it showed local changes, discharge, or if sepsis was suspected. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Pain on insertion ranged from 0 to 20 mm on the 100-mm visual analog scale. Complications related to femoral artery can
