Pulmonary Artery Catheters in Critically Ill Patients

A systematic review 1 including 13 studies with a total of 5,051 subjects was abstracted in DARE. There was no statistically significant difference in survival between patients randomised to the PAC and those who did not have the PAC (OR 1.04, 95% CI: 0.90 to 1.20, P=0.59). There was no statistically significant difference in the length of hospital stay between patients randomised to the PAC and those who did not have the PAC (difference between the mean for PAC and the mean for no PAC was 0.11 days, 95% CI: -0.51 to 0.74, P=0.73). None of the included trials showed a significantly positive effect of the PAC on outcomes.

References

• Shah MR, Hasselblad V, Stevenson LW, Binanay C, O'Connor CM, Sopko G, Califf RM. Impact of the pulmonary artery catheter in critically ill patients: meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. JAMA 2005 Oct 5;294(13):1664-70. [PubMed] [DARE]