Letters to the Editor

I thank Drs Lammers and Dolin for their excellent summary on the applications of point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) in the intensive care unit for the obstetric patient.¹  I would value their thoughts on the potential application of POCUS to assess volume status in preeclampsia.

Preeclampsia complicates 4.6% of pregnancies worldwide, with preeclampsia with severe features having an incidence of approximately 1% in the United States.²  Clinical assessment of volume status in preeclampsia is complicated by increased vascular permeability and hypoalbuminemia, potentially resulting in generalized edema, pleural effusions, ascites, and pulmonary edema. Accurate assessment of volume status is also particularly important for those women in whom preeclampsia is complicated by acute kidney injury or hyponatremia. Accurate assessment of volume status by inferior vena cava measurement during pregnancy may be affected by increased intra-abdominal pressure, difficult views in term pregnancy, and a patient’s inability to tolerate a probe over the subxiphoid...