Evidence Base

Optimal management of cardiac output, fluid balance and haemodynamic status is considered to be a key factor in improving the outcomes of high risk surgery and critically ill patients. There are currently eight randomised controlled trials demonstrating that oesophageal doppler monitoring and haemodynamic optimisation alone and in combination with other evidence based interventions can significantly improve surgical outcomes by reducing both the rates of post-operative complications and mortality, as well as significantly reducing both the length of hospital stay and the overall number of ICU / HDU bed days used.