Background Assessing the femoral vein-to-artery (FV/FA) diameter ratio has emerged as an indicator for predicting fluid responsiveness in children. Aim To assess the clinical effectiveness of the FV/FA diameter ratio in predicting dehydration in children. Patients and methods This study was carried out on 85 children aged from 2 to 10 years old, both sexes, scheduled for elective surgery with signs of moderate to severe dehydration in the preoperative period just before induction of anesthesia. All patients were subjected to FV/FA diameter measurement as the primary outcome. Quantitative parametric data were compared between the groups by unpaired Student’s t -test and compared before and after fluid challenge by Paired T -test. Qualitative variables were compared by χ 2 test. The overall diagnostic performance of each test was assessed by the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Results FV/FA, expanded FV/FA, and inferior vena cava/aorta diameter ratio was significantly higher after fluid challenge 10 ml/kg and after 30 ml/kg than before fluid challenge ( P <0.001). There was a positive correlation between FV/FA diameter and inferior vena cava/Aorta diameter ratio ( r =0.834 and P <0.001). FV/FA diameter ratio was significantly higher in moderate dehydration than severe dehydration ( P <0.001). FV/FA diameter ratio can predict dehydration in children after fluid challenge ( P <0.001) at cut-off less than or equal to 0.77 with 85.19% sensitivity, 81.03% specificity. Conclusion The FV/FA diameter ratio is a practical and noninvasive tool for predicting fluid responsiveness in children with a cut-off value of less than or equal to 0.77, demonstrating high sensitivity (85.19%) and specificity (81.03%) correlating strongly with dehydration severity.
Elsheikh et al. (Wed,) studied this question.