Against this must be set the fact that capture tends to be less reliable with the pacing PAC than with the conventional electrodes. The indications for the use of pacing PACs in cardiac surgery has been examined by Risk et al 1 . Heparin coating of catheters are now widely available. The catheters are contraindicated in patients with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. Chlorhexidine and silver sulfadiazine impregnated central venous catheters are available.
Impregnation is intended to reduce the risk of catheter-related sepsis.
Pulmonary artery catheters coated with these compounds are not yet available. Right ventricular function catheters. Continuous cardiac output catheters. Measurements are updated every thirty seconds and report the average output over the preceding few minutes. Pulmonary artery catheters capable of measuring continuous SvO2 by fibreoptic oximetry have been available since the middle 1970s.