رجل عمره ٦٠ سنة في العناية بعد جراحة بطن، عنده خط شرياني. قراءة الضغط على الشاشة صارت فجأة ٦٠/٥٢ بموجة مسطحة، لكن المريض واعٍ ويتكلم بشكل طبيعي، ولونه وردي، ونبضه الكعبري قوي باللمس. ما أول إجراء؟

A 60-year-old man in ICU after abdominal surgery has an arterial line. The monitor suddenly reads 60/52 with a flattened waveform, but he is alert, talking normally, pink, with a strong radial pulse on palpation. What is the first action?

1. Call the arrest team because he is in shock
2. Assess the client, then check the line and transducer level
3. Remove the arterial line as it is now useless
4. Start noradrenaline immediately because the monitored pressure is very low

Answer: B) Assess the client, then check the line and transducer level. A damped waveform in an alert, stable client usually means a technical problem such as an air bubble, clot or kink. Assess the client and take a manual BP for comparison, then check the system and transducer level.