Principal Investigator: Nikhilesh Mazumder, MD, MPH

Severe damage to the liver can profoundly affect a variety of body systems. Patients with cirrhosis suffer from excess fluid in the legs, abdomen, and chest. Medications can reduce fluid buildup but dosing is not an exact science. Inaccurate dosing can harm the kidneys, cause confusion, and even land patients in the hospital. To avoid these complications, clinicians rely on a multitude of blood and imaging tests that often require
expensive equipment, drawing blood, or specially trained staff. Dr. Mazumder’s team seeks to simplify the process by testing the benefit of a decades-old technique called the Valsalva maneuver in combination with a finger photoplethysmography device (similar to a noninvasive bedside pulse oximeter). Patients hold their breath for 10 seconds, and the device measures changes in blood flow to the finger. Safely and successfully tested in individuals with heart problems to predict levels of fluid overload, the investigators.