Brief Article
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World J Hepatol. Aug 27, 2013; 5(8): 433-438
Published online Aug 27, 2013. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v5.i8.433
Can non-invasive measurements aid clinical assessment of volume in patients with cirrhosis?
Andrew Davenport, Banwari Agarwal, Gavin Wright, Konstantinos Mantzoukis, Rumyana Dimitrova, Joseph Davar, Panayota Vasianopoulou, Andrew K Burroughs
Andrew Davenport, UCL Center for Nephrology, Royal Free Hospital, London NW3 2QG, United Kingdom
Banwari Agarwal, Intensive care Unit, Royal Free Hospital, London NW3 2QG, United Kingdom
Gavin Wright, Konstantinos Mantzoukis, Panayota Vasianopoulou, Andrew K Burroughs, Sheila Sherlock centre for hepatic diseases, Royal Free Hospital, London NW3 2QG, United Kingdom
Rumyana Dimitrova, Joseph Davar, Department of Cardiology, Royal Free Hospital, London NW3 2QG, United Kingdom
Author contributions: All the authors contributed to this article.
Correspondence to: Andrew Davenport, MD, UCL Center for Nephrology, Royal Free Hospital, Pond Street, London NW3 2QG, United Kingdom. andrewdavenport@nhs.net
Telephone: +44-207-4726457 Fax: +44-207-3178591
Received: January 13, 2013
Revised: June 14, 2013
Accepted: August 4, 2013
Published online: August 27, 2013
Core Tip

Core tip: Despite peripheral oedema and ascites patients with cirrhosis may be intravascularly volume deplete and require parenteral fluids to prevent acute kidney injury. We assessed whether non-invasive measurements with multifrequency bioimpedance and echocardiography aided clinical assessment of volume status. Multifrequency bioimpedance showed that patients with decompensated cirrhosis had similar total body water to stable cirrhotics, but with an expanded extracellular volume, suggesting increased vascular permeability. Echocardiography was not helpful in assessing volume status in the two groups, and neither echocardiography nor multifrequency bioimpedance could aid assessment of intravascular volume.