Surveillance during the postoperative period

The accurate assessment and monitoring of arterial pressure is a key issue in the ICU. Arterial tonometry (applanation tonometry) is increasingly used in the cardiovascular field to noninvasively estimate pressure at the radial artery and carotid artery level and to reconstruct central aortic pressure. This allows the quantification of left ventricular afterload and may improve the evaluation of arterial stiffness and cardiovascular risk. The present article briefly summarizes the technical and methodological aspects of the technique and the potential interest in the rationale, pathophysiological management of ICU patients, with special focus on the links between pulse pressure and stroke volume.