Role of Echocardiography in Guiding Fluid Therapy in Shocked Patients With Impaired Cardiac Contractility in Emergency Department

Shocked patients were subjected to echocardiographic examination if (EF \<52%) .baseline LVOT VTI was obtained Then IVC scanning was done through subcostal Window and using M-mode the minimum and the maximum diameters were measured then the collapsibility index was calculated Then passive leg raising test was done Patients who tolerated the PLR test and did not develop clinical or lung ultrasound signs of fluid overload (lung congestion) were given IV fluid bolus (250 ml normal saline) over 10 minutes followed by measurement of LVOT VTI. Patients who did not tolerate PLR test or developed clinical or lung ultrasound signs of fluid overload (lung congestion) during PLR test were excluded from the third step (fluid challenge). The differentiating factor used to allocate patient in which group (non-responder or responder) was LVOT VTI variability after fluid challenge (our gold standard to assess fluid responsiveness).