Patient monitoring techniques

Abstract

The requirement for patient monitoring is an essential standard engrained into the modern practice of medicine. Accurate and contemporaneous monitoring to observe physiological parameters allows for timely interventions to guide patient care. Monitoring, whilst potentially complex in terms of technical specifications or its desired target for observation, in its simplest form can be divided into either: (a) a ‘snapshot’ clinical review or (b) a review of progressive changes in observed trends over the course of time. This can help optimize a patient’s care and, accordingly, guide the trajectory of their hospital admission. This article describes the modalities of basic and specialty-specific advanced monitoring and details the mechanism by which these monitors operate. Specific advantages and disadvantages of particular types of monitoring are described.