Date of Award
12-2025
Degree Type
Dissertation/Thesis
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
School
Leadership and Advanced Nursing Practice
Committee Chair
Dr. Douglas Allan Lovern
Committee Chair School
Leadership and Advanced Nursing Practice
Committee Member 2
Dr. Mary Jane Collins
Committee Member 2 School
Leadership and Advanced Nursing Practice
Abstract
Among the many aspects of preparation required for patients undergoing general anesthesia, preoperative optimization is key. One goal of preoperative optimization is the establishment of adequate preoperative intravascular fluid volume. Inadequate fluid volume can increase surgical risks and lead to adverse patient outcomes. Evidence has demonstrated that using point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) to assess preoperative surgical patients can diminish the consequences associated with altered fluid status and increase the likelihood of hemodynamic stability. One of the varying methods of POCUS is the point-of-care focused cardiac ultrasound (FOCUS). Using FOCUS, the practitioner can measure the IVC diameter and collapsibility index to determine the need for intravascular fluid volume replacement.
This doctoral project aims to educate current anesthesia providers on how to use POCUS to measure the IVC diameter and collapsibility index in the preoperative surgical patient. Using a pretest/posttest design, 17 anesthesia providers participated in this doctoral project. The effectiveness of an educational module and a best practice guideline was evaluated in this doctoral project. A pretest was provided for all 17 participants, and then the educational module was provided. After the doctoral project was completed, a post test was administered to all participants. The results of the doctoral project demonstrated that
CRNA knowledge and confidence levels in performing POCUS increased after the delivery of the educational module. Limitations to performing this assessment were considered and discussed in this doctoral project.
Copyright
Jordan Parker and Dakota Kilpatrick, December 2025
Recommended Citation
Parker, Jordan and Kilpatrick, Dakota, "Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS): Measuring Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Diameter and Collapsibility in the Preoperative Setting" (2025). Doctoral Projects. 282.
https://aquila.usm.edu/dnp_capstone/282