An inexpensive pulmonary artery catheter for pressure measurements and blood sampling.

Inexpensive 5-Fr, single-lumen polyvinyl catheters are light and flexible enough to be floated into the root of the pulmonary artery. True mixed venous blood samples can be obtained rapidly from these catheters, and pressure waves are insignificantly damped. In 36 (84%) of 43 dogs, after the catheter had been surgically introduced via the external jugular vein, its tip was positioned in the root of the pulmonary artery. Twenty hours later, the overall success rate rose to 91%. In 11 (92%) of 12 critically ill human patients the catheter's tip was rapidly placed in the root of the pulmonary artery after the catheter had been introduced percutaneously via the subclavian vein. Only 2 patients and 2 dogs exhibited ventricular extrasystoles.