POCUS Journal (Nov 2023)

Venous Excess Ultrasound (VExUS) Grading to Assess Perioperative Fluid Status for Noncardiac Surgeries: a Prospective Observational Pilot Study

  • Justin Magin,
  • Jacob Wrobel,
  • Xinming An,
  • Jacob Acton,
  • Alexander Doyal,
  • Shawn Jia,
  • James Krakowski,
  • Jay Schoenherr,
  • Ricardo Serrano,
  • David Flynn,
  • Duncan McLean,
  • Stuart Grant

DOI
https://doi.org/10.24908/pocus.v8i2.16792
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8, no. 2

Abstract

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Objectives: Perioperative fluid administration impacts the rate of complications following surgery. VExUS grading system is a standardized point of care ultrasound (POCUS)-based, comprehensive method to assess volume status. VExUS could serve as a tool to guide fluid management, if validated perioperatively. The primary aim was to assess the success rate of obtaining required windows for VExUS grading , as well as the feasibility within a perioperative setting among noncardiac surgery. Further, this study describes the incidence of perioperative venous congestion and associations with 30-day postoperative complications. Methods: This observational study was conducted in non-critically ill adults undergoing noncardiac surgery. Patients were scanned preoperatively, in the post anesthesia care unit (PACU), and 24 hours postoperatively for venous congestion. Researchers retrospectively captured 30-day complications for multivariate analyses. Results: The cohort included 69 participants. Ninety-one percent of scans over all timepoints were successfully completed. Pre-operatively, 57 (83%) scans were Grade 0, and 11 (16%) were Grade 1. Venous congestion was observed in 29 (44%) patients in the PACU (n=66). 22 (33%) patients were Grade 1, while 7 (11%) were Grade 2. At 24 hours (n=63), 31 patients (49%) had venous congestion: 20 (32%) Grade 1 and 11 (17%) Grade 2. Of the pre-operative Grade 0, 28 (50%) had at least one postoperative scan with venous congestion. No patients were Grade 3 at any timepoint. The 30-day complication rate was 32% (n=22). Eleven (16%) patients developed acute kidney injury (AKI). There was no statistically significant association between VExUS grading and all-cause complications or AKI. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that perioperative VExUS scoring is a feasible tool among a variety of noncardiac surgeries. We highlight that venous congestion is common and increases postoperatively within non-ICU populations. Larger studies are needed to assess the relationship between VExUS grading and postoperative complications.

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