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Association between the inferior vena cava collapsibility index and Fontan pressure in patients with Fontan physiology: a two-centre prospective pilot study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 October 2026

Matthew D. Campbell*
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Division of Cardiology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, USA
Arshid Mir
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Division of Cardiology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, USA
Shashank Behere
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Division of Cardiology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, USA
Jennifer H. Huang
Affiliation:
Pediatrics, Oregon Health and Science University, USA
Grant Burch
Affiliation:
Pediatrics, Oregon Health and Science University, USA
Mohammad Alnoor
Affiliation:
Pediatrics, Oregon Health and Science University, USA
Erin Madriago
Affiliation:
Pediatrics, Oregon Health and Science University, USA
*
Corresponding author: Matthew D. Campbell; Email: matthew.campbell@childrenscolorado.org
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Abstract

Introduction:

Patients with functional single ventricle anatomy undergo staged surgical palliation in early childhood culminating in the Fontan procedure whereby the inferior vena cava is connected to the pulmonary artery. Fontan circulation inherently requires elevated central venous pressure to maintain adequate pulmonary blood flow; however, excessive elevation is associated with morbidity and mortality. In adults, a key component of echocardiographic evaluation is the use of a “sniff test” as a surrogate of downstream right atrial pressure. This technique has not yet been validated as a measure of pressure assessment in patients with Fontan circulation.

Methods:

This was a two-center prospective study of patients with functional single ventricle physiology who had undergone the Fontan procedure and were undergoing previously scheduled transthoracic echocardiogram and cardiac catheterization as part of their standard clinical care. We correlated collapsibility index on echocardiogram with directly obtained Fontan pressure measurements from cardiac catheterization performed the same day.

Results:

15 patients were enrolled and analyzed for the study. Collapsibility index demonstrated an inverse correlation with Fontan pressure, (Pearson r = −0.72, R2 = 0.51, p = 0.003). Collapsibility index was significantly higher for patients with non-elevated Fontan pressure (45% vs 30%, p = 0.0005). Using a collapsibility index threshold of 35.0% demonstrated a 100% positive predictive value for detecting elevated Fontan pressure (greater than 14 mmHg).

Conclusions:

There was a significant inverse relationship between the collapsibility index and Fontan pressure. These findings may suggest a possible association between collapsibility index and Fontan pressure, warranting further investigation in larger studies.

Information

Type
Original Article
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press
Figure 0

Figure 1. Figure 1 long description.Graphical illustration of a patient with Fontan anatomy at rest (left) and performing a “sniff test” (right) with the negative intrathoracic pressure affecting IVC diameter. IVC = inferior vena cava.

Figure 1

Table 1. Comparison of continuous variables derived on echocardiography with catheter-derived measurementsTable 1 long description.

Figure 2

Figure 2. Scatter plot comparing Fontan pressure and CI. CI = collapsibility index; IVC = inferior vena cava.

Figure 3

Figure 3. Analysis of collapsibility index in patients with non-elevated versus elevated Fontan pressures/Whisker plot represents minimum and maximum value; box represents 25 to 75th percentile and median value.

Figure 4

Table A1. Echocardiographic findingsTable A1 long description.

Figure 5

Table A2. Haemodynamic catheterisation findingsTable A2 long description.