Arterial catheter: Definition from Answers.com

An arterial line, or art-line, is a thin catheter inserted into an artery. It is most commonly used in intensive care medicine to monitor the blood pressure real-time (rather than by intermittent measurement), and to obtain samples for arterial blood gas measurements. It is not generally used to administer medication.

An arterial line is usually inserted in the wrist (radial artery); but can also be inserted into the elbow (brachial artery), groin (femoral artery), foot (dorsalis pedis artery).

Insertion is often painful; however an anesthetic such as Lidocaine can be used to make the insertion more tolerable, but this can make insertion more difficult.

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Health science · Medicine · Medical specialities · Intensive care medicine / Critical care medicine and Critical care nursing

General terms

Intensive care unit (ICU) · Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) · Pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) · Coronary care unit (CCU) · Critical illness insurance

Conditions

Organ system failure	Shock sequence: SIRS · Sepsis · Severe sepsis · Septic shock Other shock: Cardiogenic shock · Distributive shock Organ failure: Acute renal failure · Acute respiratory distress syndrome · Acute liver failure · Respiratory failure · Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome Polytrauma · Coma

Complications	Critical illness polyneuropathy / myopathy · Critical illness–related corticosteroid insufficiency · Decubitus ulcers · Fungemia · Stress hyperglycemia · Stress ulcer

Iatrogenesis	Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus · Oxygen toxicity · Refeeding syndrome · Ventilator-associated lung injury · Ventilator-associated pneumonia

Diagnosis

Arterial blood gas · catheter (Arterial catheter, Central venous catheter, Pulmonary artery catheter) · Blood cultures · Screening cultures

Life supporting treatments

Airway management · Chest tube · Dialysis · Enteral feeding · Goal-directed therapy · Induced coma · Mechanical ventilation · Therapeutic hypothermia · Total parenteral nutrition

Drugs

Analgesics · Antibiotics · Antithrombotics · Inotropes · Intravenous fluids · Neuromuscular-blocking drugs · Recombinant activated protein C · Sedatives · Stress ulcer prevention drugs · Vasopressors

ICU scoring systems

APACHE II · Glasgow Coma Scale · PIM2 · SAPS II · SAPS III · SOFA

Organisations

Society of Critical Care Medicine · Surviving Sepsis Campaign

Related specialties

Anesthesia · Cardiology · Internal medicine · Neurology · Pediatrics · Pulmonology · Surgery · Traumatology

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		Medical Dictionary. The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Read more
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