Page 117 - AACN Essentials of Critical-Care Nursing Pocket Handbook, Second Edition

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Corrective Action Check the system for air, blood, loose connections or kinks in the tubing or catheter. Verify extension tubing has not been added.

Clinical Effect Produces a falsely low systolic and high diastolic value.

Assessing Damping Concepts from Square Wave Test (continued)
Overdamped system. The upstroke of the square wave appears somewhat slurred, the waveform does not extend below the base- line after the fast flush, and there is no ring- ing after the flush. The patient’s waveform displays a falsely decreased sy

Square Wave Test well as poorly defined components of the pressure tracing such as a dimin- ished or absent dicrotic notch on arterial waveforms. Interventions: To cor- rect the problem, (1) check for the presence of blood clots, blood left in the

Overdamped Observed waveform Used with permission.)
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