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Review
. 2014 Mar;29(2):241-5.
doi: 10.3904/kjim.2014.29.2.241. Epub 2014 Feb 27.

Isolated dilatation of the inferior vena cava

Jae-Joon Kim  1 , Kyoung-Im Cho  2 , Ji-Hoon Kang  1 , Ja-Jun Goo  1 , Kyoung-Nyoun Kim  1 , Ja-Young Lee  1 , Seong-Man Kim  1
Affiliations
Review

Isolated dilatation of the inferior vena cava

Jae-Joon Kim et al. Korean J Intern Med. 2014 Mar.

Abstract

The diameter and collapsibility of the inferior vena cava (IVC) should be interpreted in consideration with other clinical and echocardiographic parameters before drawing definitive diagnostic conclusions. We report a case of a 46-year-old female with isolated IVC dilation and diminished inspiratory collapse without other abnormalities, and provide a brief review of the literature.

Keywords: Cardiac catheterization; Echocardiography; Vena cava, inferior.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Abdominal computed tomography findings revealed no parenchymal liver disease or obstruction of the hepatic vein. Dilatation of the inferior vena cava (black arrow, A) and engorgement of the hepatic vein (black arrow, B) are shown.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Transthoracic echocardiography showed dilatation of the inferior vena cava (IVC) (24.3 mm in diameter) (A) and diminished inspiratory collapse (B). HV, hepatic vein; RA, right atrial.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Transthoracic echocardiography. (A) The hepatic vein flow was normal. (B) No regurgitation or stenosis of the pulmonary artery were observed. (C) Mild grade tricuspid regurgitation flow was observed with normal right ventricular systolic pressure. VR, ventricular reversal; AR, atrial reversal; D, diastolic forward flow; S, systolic forward flow.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Cardiac catheterization revealed normal pressure of the right side of the heart. The inferior vena cava mean pressure was 7 mmHg (A), the right atrial mean pressure was 13 mmHg (B), the main pulmonary artery mean pressure was 16 mmHg (C), the mean pressure of the pulmonary capillary wedge was 12 mmHg (D), and the mean pressure of the superior vena cava was 6 mmHg (E).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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