POCUS series: The use of velocity time integral in assessing cardiac output and fluid responsiveness

In the last decade ultrasound has found its place in the intensive care unit. Initially ultrasound was used primarily to increase safety and efficacy of line insertion but now many intensivists use point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) to aid in diagnosis, assessment of therapy and therapeutic interventions. In this series we aim to highlight one specific POCUS technique at a time, which we believe will prove to be useful in your clinical practice. Our aim is to provide you with a short and practical description of the technique as well as its merits and pitfalls. In this issue we describe the use of the left ventricular outflow tract velocity time integral to ascertain cardiac output and fluid responsiveness.