Because of the low nurse-to-patient ratio on surgical wards and the intermittent nature of blood pressure spot-checks, there is increasing evidence that hemodynamic deterioration may be overlooked for hours. Several non-obtrusive systems have recently been developed to monitor blood pressure continuously and non-invasively. They may help to free nurses from time-consuming and repetitive tasks and to detect clinical deterioration earlier, decrease the number of rapid response team interventions, ICU admissions, cardiac arrests, and deaths. From a sensor standpoint, wireless wearables are emerging as the ideal solution for monitoring on the wards because they are patient friendly and they enable early mobilization, which is a key element of enhanced recovery programs. Clinical studies are needed to clarify what are the best strategies to effectively respond to early deterioration alerts. Such strategies may include the quick assessment of cardiac function with a POCUS device. Future trials will also have to investigate what is the impact on key outcome variables such as ICU admission and hospital length of stay, and which patients may benefit the most from recent mobile monitoring and ultrasound innovations.

Because of the low nurse-to-patient ratio on surgical wards and the intermittent nature of blood pressure spot-checks, there is increasing evidence that hemodynamic deterioration may be overlooked for hours. Several non-obtrusive systems have recently been developed to monitor blood pressure continuously and non-invasively. They may help to free nurses from time-consuming and repetitive tasks and to detect clinical deterioration earlier, decrease the number of rapid response team interventions, ICU admissions, cardiac arrests, and deaths. From a sensor standpoint, wireless wearables are emerging as the ideal solution for monitoring on the wards because they are patient friendly andenable early mobilization,a key element of enhanced recovery programs. Clinical studies are needed to clarify what are the best strategies to effectively respond to early deterioration alerts. Such strategies may include the quick assessment of cardiac function with a POCUS device.