Abstract
Organ congestion from venous hypertension is an important pathophysiological mechanism
mediating organ injury in several clinical contexts including critical illness, congestive
heart failure and end-stage chronic kidney disease. However, the practical evaluation
of venous congestion is often challenging at the bedside because of the limitations
of traditional methods. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) enables the clinician to
assess venous velocity profiles during the cardiac cycle using Doppler modalities.
Venous Doppler profile abnormalities at multiple sites are detected when elevated
venous pressure results in hemodynamic changes within the systemic venous circulation.
The detection of these abnormal Doppler profiles may identify patients with clinically
significant systemic venous congestion. These patients have been reported to be at
increased risk of medical complications. Improving the evaluation of venous congestion
may lead to individualized treatment and improved patient outcomes. In this review,
we describe the physiologic principles necessary to understand venous Doppler assessment.
We also propose a nomenclature for the description of venous Doppler profiles. Finally,
we provide a narrative review of the current clinical evidence related to use of venous
Doppler assessment in various clinical contexts.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 04, 2022
Accepted:
July 21,
2022
Received in revised form:
June 29,
2022
Received:
April 3,
2022
Identification
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