Loading...
Hand-carried ultrasound units (HCUs) are becoming available for bedside imaging of cardiac patients. In this study from Chicago, internal medicine residents received several hours of training in the use of HCUs to determine maximal diameter and collapsibility of the inferior vena cava (IVC), and then imaged 75 patients with decompensated heart failure at admission and predischarge.
During 30-day follow-up, 31 patients presented to the emergency department or were readmitted. Readmission was not predicted by demographics, comorbidities, vital signs, or signs and symptoms of congestion, but it was predicted by serum sodium, predischarge brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), and IVC size and collapsibility. The maximal IVC diameter better predicted …