Guideline development and education to insure accurate and consistent pulmonary artery wedge pressure measurement by nurses in intensive care units

Abstract

A consistent pulmonary artery wedge pressure measurement is vital to insure that patients have the proper fluid balance and that the healthcare team obtain accurate information on the patients' ventricular function. This article discusses how guidelines for pulmonary artery wedge pressure measurement were developed and implemented at one facility. To implement and ensure that the guidelines were effective, nurses received a copy of guidelines for pulmonary artery wedge pressure measurement and they were posted in the intensive care unit. A pretest was completed before nurses were given the guidelines, and a posttest was completed after nurses reviewed the guidelines. This fast and simple method of education was found to increase nurses' knowledge of how to measure pulmonary artery wedge pressure. These results are encouraging and warrant extending the teaching techniques to other nurses caring for critically ill patients.