CCO/SVO2: birth of the new gold standard

The application of many devices and cherished icons of intensive care is un der renewed scrutiny in the era of evidence-based medicine. This is the cas e for pulmonary artery catheters (PACs) and the data they provide. Unfortun ately, much of the perceived problem with PAC data lies not with the proced ure or the accuracy of the data, but rather the choice of clinicians in wha t and how often they measure. This paper clearly and succinctly delineates what variables we should measure, why those variables are crucial, and how often they should be measured.