Adding point of care ultrasound to assess volume status in heart failure patients in a nurse-led outpatient clinic. A randomised study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Medical history, physical examination and laboratory testing are not optimal for the assessment of volume status in heart failure (HF) patients. We aimed to study the clinical influence of focused ultrasound of the pleural cavities and inferior vena cava (IVC) performed by specialised nurses to assess volume status in HF patients at an outpatient clinic.

Methods

HF outpatients were prospectively included and underwent laboratory testing, history recording and clinical examination by two nurses with and without an ultrasound examination of the pleural cavities and IVC using a pocket-size imaging device, in random order. Each nurse worked in a team with a cardiologist. The influence of the different diagnostic tests on diuretic dosing was assessed descriptively and

SUBMITTER: Gundersen GH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4717409 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature