Introduction: Non-invasive, continuous hemodynamic monitoring is entering the clinical arena. The primary objective of this study was to test the feasibility of such monitoring in a pilot sample of Emergency Department (ED) stroke patients. Secondary objectives included analysis of hemodynamic variability and correlation of continuous blood pressure measurements with standard measurements.

Methods: This study was a secondary analysis of 7 stroke patients from a prospectively collected data set of patients that received 2 hours of hemodynamic monitoring in the ED. Stroke patients were included if hemorrhagic or ischemic stroke was confirmed by neuroimaging, and symptom onset was within 24 hours. They were excluded for the presence of a stroke mimic or transient ischemic attack. Monitoring was performed using the Nexfin device (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine CA).

Results: The mean age of the cohort was 71 ± 17 years, 43% were male, and the mean National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) was 6.9 ± 5.5. Two patients had hemorrhagic stroke. We obtained 42,456 hemodynamic data points, including beat-to-beat blood pressure measurements with variability of 18 mmHg and cardiac indices ranging from 1.8 to 3.6 l/min/m2. The correlation coefficient between continuous blood pressure measurements with the Nexfin device and standard ED readings was 0.83.

Conclusion: This exploratory investigation revealed that continuous, noninvasive monitoring in the ED is feasible in acute stroke. Further research is currently underway to determine how such monitoring may impact outcomes in stroke or replace the need for invasive monitoring. [West J Emerg Med. 2014;15(4):345-350.]

Introduction: Noninvasive hemodynamic (HD) assessments in the emergency department (ED) might assist in the diagnosis, therapeutic plan development and risk stratification of acutely ill patients. This multinational observational study was designed to initiate noninvasive HD measurements prior to any ED patient therapeutic interventions and broadly evaluate them for potential diagnostic, therapeutic and predictive value.

Methods: We enrolled patients with suspected acute heart failure (AHF), sepsis or stroke. Continuous noninvasive HD monitoring was begun using the Nexfin finger cuff device (Edwards LifeSciences, BMEYE, Amsterdam, Netherlands). Beat-to-beat HD measurements were averaged for the initial 15 minutes, prior to therapeutic intervention. We performed suspected disease group comparisons and evaluated HD predictors of 30-day mortality.

Results: Of 510 patients enrolled: 185 (36%) AHF, 194 (38%) sepsis and 131 (26%) stroke. HD variables were significantly different (p<0.05) amongst the groups. Cardiac output and index and stroke volume index (SVI) were highest in sepsis (6.5, 3.5, 36), followed by stroke (5.5, 2.7, 35.8), and lowest in AHF (5.4, 2.7, 33.6). The in-group HD standard deviations and ranges measurements were large, indicating heterogeneous underlying HD profiles. Presenting SVI predicted 30-day mortality for all groups.

Conclusion: Presenting ED noninvasive HD data has not been previously reported in any large patient population. Our data suggest a potential role for early noninvasive HD assessments aiding in diagnosing of patients, individualizing therapy based on each person’s unique HD values and predicting 30-day mortality. Further studies and analyses are needed to determine how HD assessments should be best used in the ED. [West J Emerg Med. 2014;15(7):-0.]