Minimally- and non-invasive assessment of maternal cardiac output: go with the flow!

The measurement of cardiac output may be crucial in the management of the parturient with haemodynamic instability due to critical illness or cardiac disease. Invasive haemodynamic monitoring may not be desirable due to the potential risk of complications and issues with patient compliance. Minimally- and non-invasive techniques of cardiac output measurement include those based on ultrasonic technology and pulse contour waveform analysis. This review article provides a synopsis of the literature examining currently available minimally- and non-invasive techniques for maternal cardiac output monitoring and looks at their advantages and disadvantages with respect to the parturient. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.