Prognostic Value of Jugular Venous Diameters and Compliance in Patients with Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Abstract Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations constitute a significant proportion of patients presenting to the emergency department (ED). It has been suggested that measurement of jugular venous diameter and compliance may have prognostic value in patients with heart failure. We hypothesized that these measurements may also be valuable in patients with advanced COPD. Methods: This study was a single-center, prospective, and cross-sectional study conducted in a university hospital between November 2020 and November 2021. In the study, internal jugular vein (IJV) diameters (inspiration, forced expiration, and rest) and jugular venous compliance were measured with ultrasound in patients who presented to the ED with COPD exacerbation. One month later, data about mortality, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and any hospitalization were obtained and evaluated together with a range of laboratory parameters. Results: Data from a total of 93 patients were analyzed. Of these, 17 (18.2%) died, 19 (20.4%) were admitted to the ICU, and 36 (38.7%) were hospitalized at the end of the 1-month period. Consequently, a total of 44 patients (47.3%) were in the good outcome group and 49 patients (52.7%) were in the poor outcome group. In terms of mortality, inspiratory IJV diameter was 5.6 ± 2.9 mm in the survived group ( n = 76) and 7.6 ± 3.9 mm in the deceased group ( n = 17) ( P = 0.031). There was no difference between the venous compliance values and other diameter measurements of the patients. In the analysis performed with the subgroup with high N-terminal prohormone brain natriuretic peptide values, it was shown that both resting and inspiration diameter measurements were higher in the group with poor outcomes. Conclusion: There was no difference between the jugular vein compliance values in terms of mortality in patients admitted to the ED with COPD exacerbation. However, these measurements may have prognostic value in patients with COPD exacerbations complicated by heart failure.