A critical care nurse is caring for a patient with a pulmonary artery catheter in place. What does this catheter measure that is particularly important in critically ill patients?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Monitoring of the pulmonary artery diastolic and pulmonary artery wedge pressures is particularly important in critically ill patients because it is used to evaluate left ventricular filling pressures (i.e., left ventricular preload). This device does not directly measure the other listed aspects of cardiac function.

A Critical Care Nurse Is Caring for a Patient with a Pulmonary