Ventricular volume and ejection fraction in the diagnosis of the aetiology of low cardiac output in burned patients

Cardiovascular instability following burns may result from either cardiac or non‐cardiac causes. We illustrate three cases in whom routine measurements of atrial filling pressures and cardiac output alone did not reject the adequacy of blood volume or the myocardial performance. In each instance, measurements of ventricular volume and ejection fraction by thermodilution technique or ^99mTC ventriculography were useful to determine the actual causes of decreased cardiac output.