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Updated: Mar 9, 2026
Image Acquisition Method for the Sonographic Assessment of the Inferior Vena Cava
Published on: January 13, 2023
Assessment of inferior vena cava diameter by echocardiography in normal Indian population: A prospective
Shivanand Patil1, Santosh Jadhav1, Natraj Shetty1
1Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
Background:
The assessment of the IVC diameter is self explanatory for evaluation of the individuals' volume status. Studies regarding IVC diameter estimation in normal individuals are scarce.
Aim:
The present study aimed to define normal criteria of size and dynamics of the inferior vena cava (IVC) by M-mode echocardiography in normal individuals.
Methods:
This was a prospective, single-center, observational study carried out at Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research between December 2011 and April 2014. A total of 4126 consecutive individuals were enrolled. Normal IVC diameter was measured both during inspiration and expiration by M-mode echocardiography in subcostal view.
Results:
The IVC diameter varied from 0.46 to 2.26cm in the study individuals. The IVC diameter ranged from 0.97 to 2.26cm during expiration and from 0.46 to 1.54cm during inspiration. A strong correlation was observed between IVC diameter and height, weight and BMI of the individuals, calculated using Pearson correlation. The correlation coefficients for expiratory and inspiratory IVC diameters as a function of BMI were 0.686 and 0.7, respectively.
Conclusions:
Our findings corroborate the correlations between height, weight and BMI with IVC diameter. Future studies could be focused to bring about a steadfast formula for calculating IVC diameter based on demographic parameters of an individual.
