Ultrasound Measurement Cheat Sheet

Authors: Maria Beylin, MD, Scott Fischette, MD, Nate Teismann, MD
Updated: 10/15/2015

Ultrasound Measurement Cheat Sheet

Aorta

Item Normal
Diameter <3 cm (outer-to-outer)
Common iliac artery diameter ≤6 mm

Bladder

Item Normal
Post-void residual ≤100-150 mL

Cardiac

Item Normal
E-point septal separation (EPSS) impaired systolic funciton ≤7 mm
Aortic root diameter ≤3.9 cm

DVT

Areas for compression

  1. CFV above SFJ
  2. SFV at SJF
  3. CFV just below SJF
  4. Proximal SFV
  5. Mid SFV
  6. Distal SFV (if possible)
  7. Popliteal Fossa

CFV: Common femoral vein, SFJ: Saphenofemoral junction, SFV: Superficial femoral vein

Gallbladder

Item Normal
Wall thickness ≤3-4 mm
CBD diameter ≤4-7 mm (up to 8-9 mm if elderly or post-cholecystectomy)
Gallbladder dimensions on short axis <4 x 10 cm

Inferior Vena Cava

Central Venous Pressure Normal
0-5 mmHg ≤2.1 cm with >50% collapse with patient sniffing
6-10 mmHg ≤2.1 cm with <50% collapse or >2.1 cm with >50% collapse
11-20 mmHg >2.1 cm with <50% collapse

Intrauterine Pregnancy - endocavitary probe

Item Normal
Gestational sac Present at 4-5 weeks estimated gestational age (EGA)
Yolk sac Present at ~5.5 weeks EGA
Fetal pole, cardiac activity Present at ~6 weeks EGA

Criteria for nonviable intrauterine pregnancy

Item Ultrasound Finding
Crown rump length ≥7 mm and no heart beat
Mean gestational sac diameter ≥25 mm and no embryo

Structures should be measured by assessing the luminal diameter of the structure, which is inner-to-inner wall except for:

  1. Aorta - which requires taking any thrombus or plaque into account
  2. Biparietal diameter of fetus - which is measured outer to inner wall of the skull

References