Continuously assessed right ventricular end-diastolic volume as a marker of cardiac preload and fluid responsiveness in mechanically ventilated cardiac surgical patients.

Introduction: Assessing cardiac preload and fluid responsiveness accurately is important when attempting to avoid unnecessary volume replacement in the critically ill patient, which is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The present clinical trial was designed to compare the reliability of continuous right ventricular end-diastolic volume (CEDV) index assessment based on rapid response thermistor technique, cardiac filling pressures (central venous pressure [CVP] and pulmonary capillary wedge pressure [PCWP]), and transesophageal echocardiographically derived evaluation of left ventricular end-diastolic area (LVEDA) index in predicting the hemodynamic response to volume replacement.

Methods: We studied 21 patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting.