Vital Sign Data Quality: Not Just a Retrospective Research Problem

Editorial| July 2024 Vital Sign Data Quality: Not Just a Retrospective Research Problem This article has an Audio Podcast Patrick J. McCormick, M.D., M.Eng. Patrick J. McCormick, M.D., M.Eng. 1Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York; Department of Anesthesiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7062-2409 Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Author and Article Information Accepted for publication April 9, 2024. This editorial accompanies the article on p. 32. Address correspondence to Dr. McCormick: Anesthesiology July 2024, Vol. 141, 4–6. https://doi.org/10.1097/ALN.0000000000005012 Connected Content Article: A Comparison of Five Algorithmic Methods and Machine Learning Pattern Recognition for Artifact Detection in Electronic Records of Five Different Vital Signs: A Retrospective Analysis Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Cite Icon Cite Get Permissions Search Site Citation Patrick J. McCormick; Vital Sign Data Quality: Not Just a Retrospective Research Problem. Anesthesiology 2024; 141:4–6 doi: https://doi.org/10.1097/ALN.0000000000005012 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll PublicationsAnesthesiology Search Advanced Search Topics: vital signs, artifacts An essential skill of an experienced anesthesiologist is to quickly determine when a vital sign alarm is valid. When the oscillometric blood pressure cuff fails to detect pulsations during deflation, is that due to the surgeon leaning on the cuff or a sudden drop in cardiac output? If the automated arrhythmia detection alarm sounds, is the patient's heart fibrillating or is the junior surgical resident applying antiseptic a little too roughly? The anesthesiologist in the room has the benefit of context in these situations, but that context is left behind when we preserve vital sign data for later analysis. Vital sign data artifacts not only are a problem for retrospective observational research but also pose a threat to the accuracy of automated quality measures and pragmatic prospective clinical trial results. In this issue of Anesthesiology, Maleczek et al.1 at the Medical University of Vienna (Vienna, Austria) compare old... You do not currently have access to this content.