Sonographic Evaluation of Internal Jugular Vein Diameter and Cross-Sectional Area Measurements in Correlation with Left Ventricular End Diastolic Area (LVEDA) as a Tool for Perioperative Assessment of Volume Status and Fluid Therapy in Pediatric Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery

Aim: The aim of this study is to compare the ultrasound estimation of the cross sectional area and diameter of Internal Jugular Vein (IJV) with Left Ventricular End Diastolic Area (LVEDA) for assessment of intravascular volume in pediatric patients during cardiac surgery.Material and Methods: The cross sectional area and diameter of the left internal jugular vein were defined, using ultrasound machine, and compared with LVEDA, estimated by Trans-Esophageal Echo (TEE), in four times intervals (immediately after induction (Tl), before the start of CPB (T2), immediately after weaning of Cardio-Pulmonary Bypass CPB (T3) and at the end of surgery before transfer to ICU (T4)) as a tool for intravascular volume assessment in 16 pediatric patients undergoing cardiac surgery.Results: There was poor correlation between IJV cross sectional area and diameter with LVEDA. r-values were: 0.158,0.265,0.449,0.201 at the four time intervals (T1, T2, T3, and T4) recpectively.Conclusion: Estimation of the cross sectional area and diameter of the left internal jugular vein using ultrasound is not reliable and cannot be used alone to decide further management.