title: The diameter of the inferior vena cava provides a noninvasive way of calculating central venous pressure in neonates.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore a less invasive way of assessing preload in neonates than fitting catheters to measure central venous pressure (CVP). This study evaluated the relationship between inferior vena cava (IVC) measurements and gestational age (GA) or body weight (BW) in term and premature infants and the correlation between those measurements and CVP in sick infants under mechanical ventilation.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied 57 clinically stable infants, together with 14 sick infants fitted with central venous catheters to measure CVP. Subcostal transverse views were recorded at the level of the left branch of portal vein, and the minimum (DS ) and maximum (DL ) diameters of the IVC were measured. We evaluated the values of DS and DL and the S/L ratio (DS divided by DL ) in the clinically stable infants and the correlation between S/L and CVP in the sick infants with central catheters.
  
  
  RESULTS
  DS and DL correlated positively and strongly with both GA and BW, whereas S/L was almost independent of both GA and BW and correlated strongly with CVP.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  At the subcostal transverse views, S/L is much less affected by either GA or BW than DS or DL and correlates strongly with CVP in mechanically ventilated infants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neonatology, Kanagawa Children's Medical Center, Yokohama, Japan. yoshiaki@med.nagoya-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yoshiaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Motoyoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawataki
authors.forename: Akihiro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hirakawa
authors.forename: Katsuaki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Toyoshima
authors.forename: Taichi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Yasufumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Itani
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hayakawa
mesh_terms: D001795:Blood Pressure Determination / Q000379:methods*; D001835:Body Weight; D002496:Central Venous Pressure; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn / Q000502:physiology*; D007234:Infant, Premature; D014682:Vena Cava, Inferior / Q000033:anatomy & histology*