The Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation has hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill advocating for a new standard of care in anesthesia monitoring.
The foundation, which is dedicated to improving anesthesia patient safety through research, education and advocacy, is advocating for continuous blood pressure monitoring to be included in anesthesia monitoring standards, according to a June 10 news release.
Currently, blood pressure monitoring for anesthesia patients is intermittent, which experts fear means devices may miss drops in blood pressure during surgery.
“The adoption of continuous blood pressure monitoring as the minimal monitoring standard will be a watershed moment in patient safety,” said Monty Mythen, MD, senior vice president of medical affairs, advanced patient monitoring at medical device maker Becton, Dickinson and Co. “This technology allows clinicians to detect and treat hypotension early, eliminating the blind spots inherent with traditional intermittent cuffs.”
APSF is urging medical societies, providers and insurance companies to establish continuous monitoring as the gold standard of care.
According to the release, 88% of patients that undergo surgical procedures experience some level of low blood pressure. Complications of low blood pressure during procedures can include heart damage, kidney injury, stroke and death.
The briefing was co-sponsored by Biocom California, BD and California Life Sciences.
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