Elevated intra-abdominal pressure leads to major changes in the body's physiology that, if undetected and untreated, can result in multiple organ failure and patient death. Early detection of increasing abdominal pressure allows the clinician to intervene before irreversible organ damage occurs and may be life saving. Currently, there are no clinical findings that are reliable for detecting elevated intra-abdominal pressure before organ damage begins. The only reliable method for early detection of increasing intra-abdominal pressure is to place a catheter within a space in the abdomen (peritoneal cavity, stomach, bladder, rectum) and measure the pressure. The most commonly used method is to monitor bladder pressure through an indwelling Foley catheter. Until now clinicians have been building their own devices out of common hospital supplies and inserting them into the Foley catheter.

The new AbViser, Intra-Abdominal Pressure Monitoring Kit is a closed system that integrates directly with the patient's Foley catheter, transducer and monitoring system. Its unique valves allow clinicians to easily infuse saline into the bladder and rapidly measure intra-abdominal pressure. With a simple turn of the AbViser valve the Foley drain tube is occluded, sterile saline is infused into the bladder through a syringe and infusion tubing set and pressure measurements of intra-abdominal pressure are made. Once the non-invasive AbViser is attached, no further exposure of the sterile urinary system is necessary so no risk of introducing infection occurs. Because no needles are used, there is no risk to the patient or the nurse from a needle. Using the AbViser is simple and requires no recurrent collection of supplies. Finally, using the AbViser eliminates any risk of intra-observer variability, providing the clinician with consistent, standardized intra-abdominal pressure measurements with which to make clinical decisions.

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