Specific elements of a new hemodynamics display improves the performance of anesthesiologists

Objective. We tested the hypothesis that a monitoring display proposed by B like et al. improves the performance of anesthesiologists. We measured the performance of anesthesiologists using the new display and compared it to t heir performance with a traditional display. We studied three different dis plays on how they affected recognition and differentiation of five etiologi es of shock-anaphylaxis, bradycardia, hypovolemia, ischemia and pulmonary e mbolus. Methods. The participants monitored heart rate, systemic arterial a nd pulmonary blood pressure, central venous pressure, and cardiac output du ring five shock states and five non-shock states. The resulting 10 data set s made up ten decision screens, which we presented randomly on a computer m onitor to the subjects in one of three different formats (a Single Sensor S ingle Indicator (SSSI) Numeric display; an Object display; and an Object Mi nus Shapes display). Subjects used soft-buttons on a computer touch-screen monitor to: a) advance to the next display; b) differentiate a non-shock st ate from a shock state; and, c) select the etiology of shock state represen ted by the display (Figure 4). The internal clock and memory of the compute r made the collection of data automatic. Results. The subjects recognized a problem more rapidly with the help of a graphical "pointer on a reference scale" in both Object displays, but their accuracy had not improved in comp arison to the SSSI Numeric display. The shape of the Object display improve d performance of etiology determination compared to the Object Minus Shapes display and SSSI Numeric display. Testing (10 trials) was completed in les s than 45 minutes. Conclusions. The new display with "emergent features" ca n improve the diagnostic performance of clinicians.