A new device for ultrasound-guided peripheral venous access (original) (raw)

Ultrasound-guided peripheral venous access: Is it the standard of care

Venous access or cannulation is the most common invasive procedure being performed in the hospitals. It may appear very simple and straight forward routine, but every one of us has encountered a situation when, due to any one or multiple causes, we feel it almost impossible to gain access. It is here that ultrasound comes into play. Although original cost and lack of training have limited its acceptance for wide spread use in all departments of a hospital, the advantages offered by it, will soon overcome the obstacles and will become the standard of care as far as peripheral or central venous access is concerned. This editorial highlights the difficulties and the scope of this new tool in ER, ICU and OR.

A clinical pathway for the management of difficult venous access

BMC nursing, 2017

Many patients are admitted to hospital with non-visible or palpable veins, often resulting in multiple painful attempts at cannulation, anxiety and catheter failure. We developed a difficult intravenous pathway at our institution to reduce the burden of difficult access for patients by increasing first attempt success with ultrasound guidance. The emphasis was to provide a solution for hospitalised patients after business hours by training the after-hours clinical support team in ultrasound guided cannulation. Inception cohort study of patients referred to the after-hours clinical support team including outcomes such as number of attempts at cannulation before and after referral, insertion site, type of device inserted and recorded pain score for attempts prior to referral and for attempts by the after-hours clinical support team. Between January and December 2016, 379 patients were referred to the after-hours clinical support team for placement of a peripheral intravenous catheter ...

Ultrasound-Guided Peripheral Venous Access vs. the External Jugular Vein as the Initial Approach to the Patient with Difficult Vascular Access

The Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2010

e Abstract-Background: Traditionally, Emergency Physicians (EPs) have used the external jugular (EJ) vein to gain vascular access in patients who have failed nursing attempts at peripheral access. Recently, some EPs have used ultrasound (USIV) to gain peripheral access. Study Objective: This study seeks to determine which initial approach by EPs would lead to greater success. Methods: This was a prospective, randomized study of all adult patients who presented to the Emergency Department (ED) between June and December 2007. Inclusion criteria were failed nursing attempts at peripheral access (at least three). EPs were 2 nd -or 3 rd -year residents who had previously performed more than five each of EJs and USIVs. Patients were randomized into either an initial EJ or USIV approach. Results: Sixty patients were enrolled, 32 in the ultrasound group, 28 in the EJ group. Fifteen different EPs performed access. Initial Success: USIV 84% (95% confidence interval [CI] 68 -93%) vs. EJ 50% (95% CI 33-67%), p ‫؍‬ 0.006. Success if EJ visible: USIV 84% vs. EJ 66% (p ‫؍‬ 0.18). Overall success, including data from the crossover pathway: a total of 41 lines were successfully placed by ultrasound out of 46 attempts (89%) vs. 18 out of 33 for EJ (55%), p ‫؍‬ 0.001. In total, 59/60 patients (98%) had a peripheral i.v. successfully placed. The percentage of functioning lines when the patient left the ED was: USIV 89% (95% CI 72-96%) vs. EJ 93% (95% CI 68 -98%), p ‫؍‬ 0.88. Conclusion: As an initial approach to all patients with difficult venous access, ultrasound-guided peripheral lines are superior to the EJ approach. However if the EJ was visible, there was no difference in success among the initial approaches. Both techniques, when used together, could achieve peripheral vascular access in 98% of difficult access patients.

Ultrasound guidance for internal jugular vein cannulation: Continuing Professional Development

Canadian Journal of Anesthesia/Journal canadien d'anesthésie, 2010

Purpose The objective of this continuing professional development module is to describe the role of ultrasound for central venous catheterization and to specify its benefits and limitations. Although ultrasound techniques are useful for all central venous access sites, the focus of this module is on the internal jugular vein approach. Principal findings In recent years, several studies were published on the benefits of ultrasound use for central venous catheterization. This technique has evolved rapidly due to improvements in the equipment and technology available. Ultrasound helps to detect the anatomical variants of the internal jugular vein. The typical anterolateral position of the internal jugular vein with respect to the carotid is found in only 9-92% of cases. Ultrasound guidance reduces the rate of mechanical, infectious, and thrombotic complications by 57%, and it also reduces the failure rate by 86%. Cost-benefit analyses show that the cost of ultrasound equipment is compensated by the decrease in the expenses associated with the treatment of complications. In this article, we will review the history of ultrasound guidance as well as the reasons that account for its superiority over the classical anatomical landmark technique. We will describe the equipment needed for central venous catheterization as well as the various methods to visualize with ultrasound. Conclusion To improve patient safety, we recommend the use of ultrasound for central venous catheterization using the internal jugular approach.

Ultrasound-guided infraclavicular axillary vein cannulation: a useful alternative to the internal jugular vein

British Journal of Anaesthesia, 2012

† Cannulation of the axillary vein (AxV) provides a potential alternative to subclavian vein cannulation that is more amenable to ultrasound (US) guidance. † A retrospective analysis evaluated the success and complications reported in a large prospectively collected database of central vein catheterization at a large UK centre. † US-guided internal jugular and AxV catheterization were both effective and relatively safe. Background. Ultrasound (US) guidance reduces complications and increases accuracy during internal jugular vein (IJV) cannulation. The subclavian vein (SCV) is popular but is less amenable to US guidance. The axillary vein (AxV), a direct continuation of the SCV, is an alternative, but to date, experience with US is limited to small case series. Methods. Retrospective procedural data were collected on 2586 sequential patients referred for insertion of tunnelled central venous access at a UK tertiary centre from 2004 to 2011. Results. A total of 99.8% of patients tolerated the procedure with local anaesthesia+ sedation; six patients had general anaesthesia. Twenty-six (1%) patients had uncorrected coagulopathy or thrombocytopenia. A total of 2572 (99.5%) of patients were cannulated successfully: right AxV 1644 cases, left AxV 279, right IJV 547, left IJV 89, other techniques 13, and 14 (0.5%) cases failed. The initial site chosen was successful in 96%. In patients who previously underwent long-term cannulation, 93.3% of lines were sited easily. Forty-eight (1.9%) procedural complications occurred. Conclusions. In this large analysis of US-guided central venous access in a complex patient group, the majority of patients were cannulated successfully and safely. The subset of patients undergoing AxV cannulation demonstrated a low rate of complications. The AxV route of access appears to be a safe and effective alternative to the IJV.

Randomized comparison of three transducer orientation approaches for ultrasound guided internal jugular venous cannulation

British Journal of Anaesthesia, 2015

Background: Ultrasound-guided internal jugular venous access increases the rate of successful cannulation and reduces the incidence of complications, compared with the landmark technique. Three transducer orientation approaches have been proposed for this procedure: short-axis (SAX), long-axis (LAX) and oblique-axis (OAX). Our goal was to assess and compare the performance of these approaches. Methods: A prospective randomized clinical trial was conducted in one teaching hospital. Patients aged 18 yr or above, who were undergoing ultrasound-guided internal jugular cannulation, were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups: SAX, LAX and OAX group. The main outcome measure was successful cannulation on first needle pass. Incidence of mechanical complications was also registered. Restricted randomization was computer-generated. Results: In total, 220 patients were analysed (SAX n=73, LAX n=75, OAX n=72). Cannulation was successful on first needle pass in 51 (69.9%) SAX patients, 39 (52%) LAX patients and 53 (73.6%) OAX patients. First needle pass failure was higher in the LAX group than in the OAX group (adjusted OR 3.7, 95% CI 1.71-8.0, P=0.002). A higher mechanical complication rate was observed in the SAX group (15.1%) than in the OAX (6.9%) and LAX (4%) groups (P=0.047). Conclusions: As OAX showed a higher first needle pass success rate than LAX and a lower mechanical complications rate than SAX, we recommend it as the standard approach when performing ultrasound-guided internal jugular venous access. Further clinical studies are needed to confirm this conclusion. Clinical trial registration: NCT 01966354

Ultrasound-Guided Central Venous Cannulation: False Sense of Security

Anesthesia & Analgesia, 2009

Background Central venous catheterization may be difficult in morbidly obese patients because anatomic landmarks are often obscured. Methods We evaluated the efficacy and safety of ultrasoundguided central venous cannulation in 55 patients undergoing bariatric surgery. The usefulness of ultrasonic examination combined with intraatrial electrocardiogram as a diagnostic tool for catheter misplacement was studied. Results Preliminary ultrasound examination of the neck vessels demonstrated anatomical variations in the position of internal jugular vein in 19 cases and four unrecognized asymptomatic thromboses of the right internal jugular vein. Central venous catheterization was successful in all 55 patients, in 51 with single skin puncture, and in 42 with single vein puncture. In three cases in whom the catheter was misplaced, this was detected by bedside ultrasonic examination during the procedure and immediately corrected by real-time echographic visualization. No arterial puncture, no hematoma, and no pneumothorax occurred in any patient. Successful catheter placement was also confirmed in all patients by post-operative chest X-ray. No evidence of infection or thrombosis subsequently was noted.

Effects of Vein Width and Depth on Ultrasound-Guided Peripheral Intravenous Success Rates

The Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2010

e Abstract-Background: Increasing numbers of operators are learning to use ultrasound to guide peripheral intravenous (i.v.) catheter insertion in patients with difficult access. Unfortunately, failed cutaneous punctures are common. Some veins seen on ultrasound may be better choices than others. Objectives: To estimate the effects of vein width and depth on the probability of success in ultrasound-guided i.v. catheter insertion. Methods: We prospectively collected data from attempts at ultrasoundguided venous catheter insertion between the antecubital fossa and mid-humerus. Each ultrasound machine's ruler function was used to determine depth from the skin to the closest vein edge and that vein's largest diameter. Success was defined as being able to freely withdraw blood or inject saline after the first skin puncture, considering each encounter independently. We calculated relative success rates, confidence intervals, and p values using reference groups selected by histogram analysis. Results: Thirty-five operators recorded 180 encounters; 100 (56%) were successful on the first skin puncture, and 152 (84%) were eventually successful. Success rates were not linearly related to vein width or depth. Success rates were higher for veins with diameter > 0.4 cm vs. those < 0.4 cm (63% [78/124] vs. 39% [22/56], relative success 1.6 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1-2.3], p ‫؍‬ 0.005) and for veins of depth 0.3-1.5 cm vs. veins of depth < 0.3 or > 1.5 cm (58% [96/165] vs. 27% [4/15], relative success 2.2 [95% CI 0.9 -5.1], p ‫؍‬ 0.04).