Correlation between central venous pressure and the diameter of inferior vena cava by using ultrasonography for the assessment of the fluid status in intensive care unit patients

ABSTRACT

Background: decisions regarding fluid therapy, whether in the operating theatre, intensive care unit, emergency department, are among the most challenging and important tasks that clinicians face on a daily basis. Specifically, almost all clinicians would agree that both hypovolaemia and volume overload increase the morbidity and mortality of patients. The therapeutic goal of fluid administration is to increase preload, or the stressed venous volume, leading to an increased stroke volume and cardiac output. However, studies of patients with acute illness or hypotensive patients in the intensive care unit consistently demonstrate that approximately 50% of fluid boluses fail to achieve the intended effect of increasing cardiac output