Fig. 2From: Fluid loading and norepinephrine infusion mask the left ventricular preload decrease induced by pleural effusionLeft ventricular preload. Graph showing left ventricular end-diastolic area at baseline (BS), after pleural effusion installation (PLE), during the intervals of incremental intervention (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) corresponding to: fluid loading (20, 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120 mL/kg) (full line), norepinephrine infusion (0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 μg/kg/min) (dashed line) and placebo (dotted line), and finally at recovery after pleurocentesis (Rec). Left ventricular end-diastolic area decreased due to pleural effusion, which was normalised by fluid loading and norepinephrine infusion. The effect subsided at higher infusion rates of norepinephrine. Subsequent evacuation only caused an additional increase in left ventricular end-diastolic area in the control groupBack to article page