My Approach to Evaluate Systemic Venous Congestion: VExUS Protocol

Abstract

The use of non-invasive tools for analyzing systemic venous congestion in critically ill patients in the intensive care unit has been gaining increasing popularity for diagnosis, estimating the severity of congestion, and providing prognostic estimates. Patients with systemic congestion are more likely to develop renal dysfunction compared to those without congestion. In this review, the authors demonstrate how to perform systemic congestion analysis, its potential limitations, and its practical and objective applicability.