Dynamic behavior of venous collapsibility and central venous pressure during standardized crystalloid bolus: A prospective, observational, pilot study.

Introduction: Measurement of intravascular volume status is an ongoing challenge for physicians in the surgical intensive care unit (SICU). Most surrogates for volume status, including central venous pressure (CVP) and pulmonary artery wedge pressure, require invasive lines associated with a number of potential complications. Sonographic assessment of the collapsibility of the inferior vena cava (IVC) has been described as a noninvasive method for determining volume status.

Sonographic evaluation of intravascular volume status: Can internal jugular or femoral vein collapsibility be used in the absence of IVC visualization?

Introduction: Inferior vena cava collapsibility index (IVC-CI) has been shown to correlate with both clinical and invasive assessment of intravascular volume status, but has important limitations such as the requirement for advanced sonographic skills, the degree of difficulty in obtaining those skills, and often challenging visualization of the IVC in the postoperative patient. The current study aims to explore the potential for using femoral (FV) or internal jugular (IJV) vein collapsibility as alternative sonographic options in the absence of adequate IVC visualization.

Methods: A prospective, observational study comparing IVC-CI and Fem- and/or IJV-CI was performed in two intensive care units (ICU) between January 2012 and April 2014.