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Assessment Of Limb Perfusion By Measurement Of Toe Temperatures With A Skin Probe In Patients With Intraaortic Balloon Pumps, Jacqueline Hawkrigg

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Assessment of peripheral perfusion is one of the most important aspects of care associated with nursing patients receiving intraaortic balloon pump (IABP) therapy. The validity of traditional methods of assessing peripheral perfusion based on colour, warmth, circulatory return, and quality of pedal pulses has' been questioned because of their subjective nature. Consequently, there is a need to identify a reliable quantitative method of monitoring peripheral perfusion in patients with IABPs. Measurement of toe temperatures by use of a skin probe has long been established as a reliable quantitative indicator of the state of lower limb perfusion in critically ill patients …