Is the inferior vena cava diameter measured by bedside ultrasonography valuable in estimating the intravascular volume in patients with septic shock?

Introduction:Resuscitation should be initiated immediately in shock. Early goal-directed therapy is an established algorithm for the resuscitation in septic shock. The first step is to maintain cardiac preload. Central venous pressure (CVP) plays an important role in goal-directed therapy. Central venous catheterization is invasive and time-consuming in emergency conditions. There are some alternative and noninvasive methods for estimating the intravascular volume such as measuring the inferior vena cava (IVC) diameter by ultrasonography. Methods: We searched PubMed, Google scholar, and Scopus databases with keywords (central venous pressure OR venous pressure OR CVP) AND (ultrasonography OR sonography) AND (sepsis OR septic shock) AND (inferior vena cava OR IVC).Result: The search resulted in 2550 articles. The articles were appraised regarding the relevance, type of article, and statistical methods. Finally, 12 articles were selected. The number of patients was between 30 and 83 cases (mean age=57-67 years), intubated and non-intubated in each study. The IVC diameter was measured in respiratory cycle by bedside ultrasonography in longitudinal subxiphoid view and caval index was calculated, then they were compared with the CVP measured by central venous catheter.Discussion: CVP is an indicator of intravascular fluid status and right heart function. CVP measurement is an invasive method and of course with some complications. The IVC is the biggest vein of venous system with low-pressure; expansion of the vein reflects intravascular volume.Conclusion: It seems that IVC diameter measured by ultrasonography could be used as an alternative method for the determination of CVP in the emergency or critical patients.

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