Chayapinun V, Koratala A, Assavapokee T. Seeing beneath the surface: Harnessing point-of-care ultrasound for internal jugular vein evaluation. World J Cardiol 2024; 16(2): 73-79 [PMID: 38456073 DOI: 10.4330/wjc.v16.i2.73]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Abhilash Koratala, MD, Associate Professor, Division of Nephrology, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 W Watertown Plank Road, HUB 7th Floor, Wauwatosa, WI 53226, United States. koratala.abhi@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Vichayut Chayapinun, Taweevat Assavapokee, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
Abhilash Koratala, Division of Nephrology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Wauwatosa, WI 53226, United States
Author contributions: Chayapinun V drafted the initial version of the manuscript; Assavapokee T and Koratala A have designed the manuscript; Assavapokee T and Koratala A have revised the manuscript for critical intellectual content.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Abhilash Koratala, MD, Associate Professor, Division of Nephrology, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 W Watertown Plank Road, HUB 7th Floor, Wauwatosa, WI 53226, United States. koratala.abhi@gmail.com
Received: December 20, 2023 Peer-review started: December 20, 2023 First decision: January 11, 2024 Revised: January 16, 2024 Accepted: February 1, 2024 Article in press: February 1, 2024 Published online: February 26, 2024
Abstract
Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) of the internal jugular vein (IJV) offers a non-invasive means of estimating right atrial pressure (RAP), especially in cases where the inferior vena cava is inaccessible or unreliable due to conditions such as liver disease or abdominal surgery. While many clinicians are familiar with visually assessing jugular venous pressure through the internal jugular vein, this method lacks sensitivity. The utilization of POCUS significantly enhances the visualization of the vein, leading to a more accurate identification. It has been demonstrated that combining IJV POCUS with physical examination enhances the specificity of RAP estimation. This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of the various sonographic techniques available for estimating RAP from the internal jugular vein, drawing upon existing data.
Core Tip: Point of care ultrasound of the internal jugular vein serves as a non-invasive tool to evaluate right atrial pressure. This is particularly useful when neck vein inspection is challenging, or inferior vena cava sonography lacks reliability. When combined with the physical examination and other sonographic parameters, it becomes a valuable component of bedside hemodynamic evaluation.
