Use of the Swan-Ganz catheter in obstetrics and gynecology.

Improved cardiovascular hemodynamic monitoring techniques now provide us with a more complete knowledge of disease states and of the effectiveness of our therapeutic modalities. The authors believe that certain areas in obstetric and gynecologic care would benefit from the use of these techniques, including 1) hypovolemic shock unresponsive to initial fluid therapy, 2) septic shock requiring volume resuscitation or vasopressor therapy, 3) surgery and/or labor and delivery of class 3 or 4 cardiac patients, 4) severe preeclampsia or eclampsia complicated by marked oliguria, hypovolemia, or pulmonary edema, and 5) fluid therapy in gynecologic oncologic patients undergoing radical surgery. The Swan-Ganz catheter is a significant advance in hemodynamic monitoring, and a review of the possible measurements, interpretations, and complications is presented.