Measurement and interpretation of central venous pressure: a narrative review

Abstract

Introduction: Central venous pressure has been a key component of haemodynamic monitoring for several decades, but its clinical utility is still debated. While central venous pressure has been used traditionally to assess intravascular volume status and fluid responsiveness, mounting evidence suggests that its absolute value alone is an unreliable predictor of such states. This narrative review explores the historical development and physiological foundations of central venous pressure, its measurement techniques and the available evidence regarding central venous pressure monitoring in various clinical scenarios. Methods: We conducted a literature search to identify relevant articles. The a..