Utility of hepatojugular reflux in Diagnosing Congestive Cardiac Failure (CCF)

Marantz el al. examined 51 patients for their response to various physical examination manoeuvres and compared this to the clinical diagnosis of CCF. The sensitivity of the abdomino-jugular reflex was shown to be poor (24%), indicating that its absence cannot exclude the diagnosis of CCF. However, the specificity was much higher (94%), and with an LR+ of 6.4, it should be considered a helpful diagnostic test.

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