Category: Ultrasound
Keywords: POCUS, fluid resuscitation, Inferior Vena Cava (PubMed Search)
Posted: 7/15/2024 by Alexis Salerno, MD
(Updated: 9/7/2024)
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Many may look at the Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) to get a sense of a patient's “fluid responsiveness.” However, there are many pitfalls to using the IVC. An article by Via et al outlines these pitfalls and is an interesting read!
To summarize, IVC can be affected by:
Bottom Line: Think twice before using IVC to evaluate for fluid responsiveness.
Via G, Tavazzi G, Price S. Ten situations where inferior vena cava ultrasound may fail to accurately predict fluid responsiveness: a physiologically based point of view. Intensive Care Med. 2016 Jul;42(7):1164-7. doi: 10.1007/s00134-016-4357-9.