Swans are going out of style

Is this from an article you read? If so, can you provide a link?

Thanks!

No I don't have a link, a few docs were talking about it one night; I guess one of them assisted with the research (which was done at cleveland clinic I think).

Basically they said that there are no differences in patient outcome - regardless if a swan is used.

Also, we just don't use them that much in our unit (CCU) anymore - use has tapered down over the last couple years. CTCU, where I float, uses them for the post op CABG pts, but they pop them out pretty early if the patient is stable.

edit: just did a quick search and found a few hits on my schools online journal center; can't link them though (password restricted). Apparently it's a debate thats been going on for a decade or so, but now the studies are starting to trend that way.

Studies have to be taken with a grain of salt. I think the most recent published study showed that there is not difference in mortality between those who were swaned and those who weren't swaned. Also, there is a non-invasive way to monitor CO/CI and all of the other swan numbers.

Swans are very useful if you're using dobutamine. You don't see a lot of swans outside of the CVICU as those patients are generally just not as hemodynamically unstable.

Yea you're right, its good to have with dobutamine. I've never used the noninvasive methods, but they sound really interesting.

We won't get a taste of that stuff though until a hospital executive has an MI and spends the night surrounded by our decades old equipment.

There was a time when it seemed like everyone in our unit from the doctors down to patients with the sniffles had a swan hanging out of their neck

No I don't have a link, a few docs were talking about it one night; I guess one of them assisted with the research (which was done at cleveland clinic I think).

Basically they said that there are no differences in patient outcome - regardless if a swan is used.

Also, we just don't use them that much in our unit (CCU) anymore - use has tapered down over the last couple years. CTCU, where I float, uses them for the post op CABG pts, but they pop them out pretty early if the patient is stable.

edit: just did a quick search and found a few hits on my schools online journal center; can't link them though (password restricted). Apparently it's a debate thats been going on for a decade or so, but now the studies are starting to trend that way.

Thanks, Burnt2- I'll try to find them in my school's database, too.

I also work CCU/OHU. I initially thought you meant that they weren't using them on fresh hearts, either. We d/c ours pretty early on stable hearts as well.