Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 29, 2026

Echocardiographic Assessment Using Subxiphoid-Only Examination for Hypotensive Patients
Published on: April 18, 2025
Demonstration of inferior vena cava compression by probe pressure during subxiphoid echocardiography
Nils Siegenthaler1, Raphael Giraud, Hayo Muller
1Intensive Care Division, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.
Abstract:
We sought to compare the inferior vena cava diameter measured by transthoracic echocardiography and by transesophageal echocardiography in human and animals. Transthoracic echocardiography yielded lower inferior vena cava diameter values than transesophageal echocardiography. Adult and pediatric intensivists should pay attention to the risk of false measurement of the inferior vena cava anterior-posterior diameter that may be due to compression of the inferior vena cava by the sonographic probe when the subxiphoid view is used.
Related Concept Videos
Imaging Studies for Cardiovascular System II:Types of Echocardiography
Types of Echocardiography
Transthoracic Echocardiography (TTE)
TTE is the most common type of echocardiogram which involves placing a transducer on the patient's chest, emitting sound waves to create heart images. TTE is invaluable for evaluating the heart's size, structure, and motion, making it particularly useful for diagnosing...
Imaging Studies for Cardiovascular System I:Echocardiography
Indications: Echocardiography is utilized to diagnose heart failure, valve disorders, and myocardial infarction. It also assesses cardiac structures' size, shape, and motion, evaluates...
Venous Thrombosis II: Clinical Manifestations and Diagnostic Studies

