title: Monitoring intravascular volumes for postoperative volume therapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The feasibility of monitoring measured intravascular volumes and the cardiac filling pressures were compared to reflect the optimal volume status of postoperative patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a prospective clinical study, 14 hypovolaemic adult patients were included after cardiac surgery. All patients received 1,000 mL hydroxyethyl starch after meeting the authors' criteria for hypovolaemia. Pressures were measured by use of a pulmonary artery catheter and volumes were determined by double-indicator dilution technique.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Stroke volume index (SVI), central venous pressure (CVP), pulmonary artery occlusion pressure (PAOP), intrathoracic blood volume index (ITBVI) and total circulating blood volume (TBVIcirc) increased significantlyaftervolumeloading(30.7 +/- 9.8 to 41.7 +/- 9.6 mLm(-2), 4.9 +/- 1.7 to 9.1 +/- 2.3mmHg, 6.6 +/- 1.3 to 10.6 +/- 1.9 mmHg, 858 +/- 255 to 965 +/- 163 mLm(-2), and 1,806 +/- 502 to 2,110 +/- 537 mLm(-2), respectively). During the subsequent 1 h steady-state period, CVP and PAOP decreased significantly (9.1 +/- 2.2 to 7.4 +/- 2.2 mmHg and 10.6 +/- 1.9 to 9.2 +/- 2.0 mmHg, respectively), whereas SVI and intravascular volumes remained unchanged. The changes of CVP and PAOP did not correlate with changes in stroke volume during volume loading (r2 = 0.06 and 0.03, respectively) and during steady-state (r2 = 0.17 and 0.00 respectively). On the other hand, a significant correlation was found between changes of the intrathoracic blood volume and changes in stroke volume during the volume loading (r2 = 0.67) and also during the steady-state phase (r2 = 0.83).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Intrathoracic blood volume reflects more accurately the preload dependency of cardiac output in postoperative patients than left/right-sided cardiac filling pressures.
authors.affiliation: General Hospital, Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Linz, Austria. heinz.brock@akh.linz.at
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Brock
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gabriel
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bibl
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Necek
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001810:Blood Volume / Q000502:physiology*; D002496:Central Venous Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D005260:Female; D005440:Fluid Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D020896:Hypovolemia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000379:methods*; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011669:Pulmonary Wedge Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D013318:Stroke Volume / Q000502:physiology