Demystifying Venous Excess Ultrasound (VExUS): Image Acquisition and Interpretation.

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Nephrology
• Critical Care Medicine

Background:

• Accurate hemodynamic assessment is crucial for patient care, but venous congestion poses challenges.
• Conventional tools and physical exams for hemodynamic assessment have diagnostic limitations.
• Invasive methods like right heart catheterization are gold standards but not easily repeatable; non-invasive alternatives are needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and describe the Venous Excess Ultrasound (VExUS) scoring system.
• To provide guidance on VExUS image acquisition and interpretation for clinicians.
• To address knowledge gaps and promote the adoption of VExUS for assessing venous congestion.

Main Methods:

• Utilizes pulsed-wave (PW) Doppler signals from liver and kidney veins.
• Develops and validates a protocol for grading venous congestion.
• Focuses on non-invasive ultrasound techniques for hemodynamic assessment.

Main Results:

• VExUS provides a method to grade venous congestion non-invasively.
• The VExUS scoring system shows promise in improving bedside clinicians' accuracy.
• The protocol aims to enhance the diagnostic capabilities for venous congestion.

Conclusions:

• VExUS offers a valuable non-invasive tool for assessing venous congestion.
• Standardized training in VExUS can improve its utilization across medical specialties.
• Further adoption of VExUS can enhance patient care by improving hemodynamic assessment.