Assessment of inferior vena cava diameter by echocardiography in normal Indian population: A prospective observational study

BACKGROUND: The assessment of the IVC diameter is self explanatory for evaluation of the individuals’ volume status. Studies regarding IVC diameter estimation in normal individuals are scarce. AIM: The present study aimed to define normal criteria of size and dynamics of the inferior vena cava (IVC) by M-mode echocardiography in normal individuals. METHODS: This was a prospective, single-center, observational study carried out at Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research between December 2011 and April 2014. A total of 4126 consecutive individuals were enrolled. Normal IVC diameter was measured both during inspiration and expiration by M-mode echocardiography in subcostal view. RESULTS: The IVC diameter varied from 0.46 to 2.26 cm in the study individuals. The IVC diameter ranged from 0.97 to 2.26 cm during expiration and from 0.46 to 1.54 cm during inspiration. A strong correlation was observed between IVC diameter and height, weight and BMI of the individuals, calculated using Pearson correlation. The correlation coefficients for expiratory and inspiratory IVC diameters as a function of BMI were 0.686 and 0.7, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings corroborate the correlations between height, weight and BMI with IVC diameter. Future studies could be focused to bring about a steadfast formula for calculating IVC diameter based on demographic parameters of an individual.