Venous congestion assessment using point‐of‐care Doppler ultrasound: Welcome to the future of volume status assessment

Background: Lingering congestion portends poor outcomes in patients with heart failure (HF) and is a key target in their management. Studies have shown that physical exam has low yield in this setting and conventional methods for more precise assessment and monitoring of volume status (e.g., body weight, natriuretic peptides, and chest radiography) have significant inherent shortcomings. Summary: Point of care ultrasonography (POCUS) is a noninvasive versatile bedside diagnostic tool that enhances the sensitivity of conventional physical examination to gauge congestion in these patients. It also aids in monitoring the efficacy of decongestive therapy and bears prognostic significance. In this narrative review, we discuss the role of focused sonographic assessment of the heart, venous system, and extravascular lung water/ascites (i.e., the pump, pipes, and the leaks) in objective assessment of fluid volume status. Key Messages: Since each of the discussed components of POCUS has its limitations, a combinational ultrasound evaluation guided by the main clinical features would be the key to reliable assessment and effective management of congestion in patients with HF.

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Measurement of Inferior Ven Cava Collapsibility Index and Its Correlation to Central Venous Pressure in Adult Critically Ill Patients a Prospective Observational Study

Journal of Anesthesia & Pain Medicine ◽

10.33140/japm.05.01.09 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

Keyword(s):

Inferior Vena Cava ◽

Central Venous Pressure ◽

Inferior Vena ◽

Venous Pressure ◽

Vena Cava ◽

Volume Status ◽

P Value ◽

Central Venous ◽

Collapsibility Index ◽

Status Assessment

Fluid therapy is an essential component part management of critically ill patients. Proper estimation of the amount of needed fluids is of great importance due to the well-established adverse effects of marked negative and positive fluids balance. Central venous pressure has been widely used by ICU physicians for volume status assessment. Several methods have been postulated for volume status assessment, among which is the inferior vena cava collapsibility index. As the inferior vena cava is a thin-walled capacitance vessel that adjusts to the body’s volume status by changing its diameter depending on the total body fluid volume. Giving the fact that bed-side ultrasonographic measurement of inferior vena cava diameters is an available, non-invasive, reproducible and quiet easy-to-learn technique, it can provide a safe and quiet reliable replacement of central venous pressure measurement for assessment of volume status assessment. The aim of this study was to find statistical correlation between central venous pressure and caval index, as a step towards validating the above mentioned replacement. 86 critically ill patients from ICU population were enrolled. Simultaneous measurements of central venous pressure and inferior vena cava collapsibility index were observed and recorded on four sessions. Patients were also grouped based on their mode of ventilation and central venous pressure values in order to compare the strength of correlation between various populations. The results showed that Inferior vena cava collapsibility index has significant inverse correlation with CVP value (r= -85, p value ˂0.001 at 95% CI) and it better correlated with mean arterial blood pressure and lactate clearance as compared to central venous pressure. However it correlated better with CVP in spontaneously breathing patients (r= -0.86, p value ˂0.001) than in mechanically ventilated patients (r= -0.84, p value ˂0.001). Inferior vena cava collapsibility index has shown to correlate better with CVP value in lower values (˂ 10 cmH2O) (r= -0.8, p value ˂0.001) than in higher values (≥ 10 cmH2O) (r= -0.6, p value ˂0.001). In addition, an inferior vena caval collapsibility index cut-off value of 29% was shown to discriminate between CVP values ˂10 cmH2O and values ≥10 cmH2O with high Sensitivity (88.6%) and specificity (80.4%). In conclusion, inferior vena cava collapsibility index has a strong inverse relationship with central venous pressure which is more pronounced at low central venous pressure values. Point-of-care ultrasonographically-measured inferior vena cava collapsibility index is very likely to be a good alternative to central venous pressure measurement with a high degree of precision and reproducibility. However, Wide scale studies are needed to validate its use in different patient populations.

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Point-of-Care Echocardiography Unveils Misclassification of Acute Kidney Injury as Hepatorenal Syndrome

American Journal of Nephrology ◽

10.1159/000501299 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 50 (3) ◽

pp. 204-211 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Juan Carlos Q. Velez ◽

Bradley Petkovich ◽

Nithin Karakala ◽

J. Terrill Huggins

Keyword(s):

Acute Kidney Injury ◽

Kidney Function ◽

Volume Expansion ◽

Hepatorenal Syndrome ◽

Point Of Care ◽

Kidney Injury ◽

Volume Status ◽

Early Improvement ◽

Abdominal Hypertension ◽

The Mean

Introduction: Fulfillment of the diagnostic criteria for hepatorenal syndrome type 1 (HRS-1) requires prior failure of 2 days of intravenous volume expansion and/or diuretic withdrawal. However, no parameter of volume status is used to guide the need for volume expansion in patients with suspected HRS-1. We hypothesized that point-of-care echocardiography (POCE) may better characterize the volume status in patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) and cirrhosis to ascertain or disprove the diagnosis of HRS-1. Methods: A pilot observational study was conducted to determine the clinical utility of POCE-based examination of inferior vena cava diameter (IVCD) and collapsibility index (IVCCI) to assess intravascular volume status in patients with cirrhosis and AKI who had been deemed adequately volume-repleted and thereby assigned a clinical diagnosis of HRS-1. Early improvement in kidney function was defined as ≥20% decrease in serum creatinine (sCr) at 48–72 h. Results: A total of 53 patients were included. The mean sCr at the time of volume assessment was 3.2 ± 1.5 mg/dL, and the mean Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score was 29 ± 8. Fifteen (23%) patients had an IVCD <1.3 cm and IVCCI >40% and were reclassified as fluid-depleted, 11 (21%) had an IVCD >2 cm and IVCCI <40% and were reclassified as fluid-expanded, and 8 (15%) had and IVCD <1.3 cm and IVCCI <40% and were reclassified as having intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH). Twelve (23%) patients exhibited early improvement in kidney function following a POCE-guided therapeutic maneuver, that is, volume expansion, diuresis, or paracentesis for those deemed fluid-depleted, fluid-expanded or having IAH, respectively. Conclusion: POCE-based assessment of volume status in cirrhotic individuals with AKI reveals marked heterogeneity. Unguided volume expansion in these patients may lead to premature or delayed diagnosis of HRS-1.

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Omics Meeting Onics: Towards the Next Generation of Spectroscopic-Based Technologies in Personalized Medicine

Journal of Personalized Medicine ◽

10.3390/jpm9030039 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 39 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Weng Peng ◽

Daniele Paesani

Keyword(s):

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance ◽

Magnetic Resonance ◽

Personalized Medicine ◽

Open Source ◽

Point Of Care ◽

Next Generation ◽

Omics Technologies ◽

The Future ◽

Monitoring Technologies ◽

New Applications

This article aims to discuss the recent development of integrated point-of-care spectroscopic-based technologies that are paving the way for the next generation of diagnostic monitoring technologies in personalized medicine. Focusing on the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technologies as the leading example, we discuss the emergence of -onics technologies (e.g., photonics and electronics) and how their coexistence with -omics technologies (e.g., genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) can potentially change the future technological landscape of personalized medicine. The idea of an open-source (e.g., hardware and software) movement is discussed, and we argue that technology democratization will not only promote the dissemination of knowledge and inspire new applications, but it will also increase the speed of field implementation.

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