Abstract

Introduction: Accurate intravascular volume status assessment is central to heart failure management, but current non-invasive bedside techniques remain a challenge. The visual inspection of jugular venous pulsation (JVP) in a reclined position and measuring its height from the sternal notch has been used as a surrogate for right atrial pressure (RAP). There are no studies on the predictive value of a visible internal jugular vein (IJV) in the upright position (U 2 JVP). Hypothesis: Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) for volume assessment in the upright position is predictive of clinically significant hypervolemia. Methods: Adult patients undergoing right heart catheterization (RHC) were enrolled prior for IJV imaging with point of care ultrasound (POCUS) device, Butterfly iQ™. The IJV and its size in comparison to the carotid artery was identified on ultrasound with the patient upright. Elevated RAP and PCWP was present if the IJV was still visible and not collapsed throughout the entirety of the respiratory cycle. Valsalva was used to confirm the position of a collapsed IJV. Results: 72 participants underwent U 2 JVP assessment on the same day prior to RHC. Average BMI was 31.9 kg/m2. The area under the curve (AUC) of U 2 JVP predicting RAP greater than 10 mmHg and PCWP of 15 mmhg or higher on RHC was 0.78 (95% CI 0.66-0.9, p<0.001), with AUC of 0.86 and 0.74 for non-obese and obese subgroups respectively, p= 0.38. The finding of a visible U 2 JVP in the upright position was 70.6 % sensitive and 85.5 % specific with a negative predictive value of 90.4% for identifying both RAP greater than 10 mmHg and PCWP equal or greater than 15 mmHg. Conclusions: The U 2 JVP is novel and pragmatic bed-side approach to the assessment of clinically significant elevated intra-cardiac pressures in our increasingly obese heart failure population.

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