Only 35% of anesthesiologists monitor cardiac output during surgery. For high risk surgeries this is dangerous as it is critical to know if adequate oxygenation of tissues is being accomplished. It is critical to know the level of hemoglobin in our red cells, as that determines how much oxygen carrying capacity we have. It is also important to know that enough oxygen is being provided by the lungs to hemoglobin. And, of course, it is critical to also know how much blood is being pumped to the tissues. Unless we know all these values, we cannot be sure that tissues are being adequately oxygenated.
Data shows that when all these three parameters are measured that there are fewer post-op complications, hospital stays are shorter, and there are fewer deaths. 14% of all surgeries are high-risk surgeries.
