Introduction:

The central venous catheters are intravascular tubes that are inserted in the major vessels of the thorax and abdomen. The commonly performed technique is the external anatomical landmarks technique based on the presumption of the location of the neck vessels when identifying external anatomical structures. The use of ultrasound has been promoted as a method to reduce the risk of complications during the central venous catheterization.

Objectives:

To compare the effectiveness of the ultrasound-guided insertion technique of internal venous catheters versus the surface anatomy landmark technique.

Methodology:

This experimental study was carried out in adult men and women in whom the insertion of an internal jugular central venous access was indicated and programmed. They were hospitalized in the Services of Medical Clinic, Intermediate Care Unit and Intensive Care Unit of the Hospital de Clínicas and the Intensive Care Unit of the Sanatorio Británico (Asunción). The following variables were measured: the rate of successful insertions, the number of attempts, the duration of catheterization (from puncture of EJV to external fixation of the catheter) and the complications (hematomas, arterial puncture and pneumothorax).

Results:

One hundred forty nine patients were included in this study, 90 ultrasound-guided jugular vein catheterizations were made and 59 using the external anatomical landmarks technique. The time of performance and the number of punctures were lower in the ultrasound-guided group (p<0.001). There were no statistically significant differences between the groups regarding the success rates but the ultrasound-guided group had less proportion of complications: hematomas (p<0.01) and arterial puncture (p<0.01). Pneumothorax was not registered in any groups.

Conclusions:

The ultrasound-guided central venous catheterization is superior to the one made using the surface anatomy landmark technique considering the lower proportion of complications, the reduction of the number of attempts and the shorter duration. Although the success of both procedures was similar, the implications for reaching the aim using the surface anatomy landmark technique turned into a direct increase of the above mentioned variables at the expense of the patient. Therefore, whenever both the necessary equipment and a trained operator are available, the ultrasound-guided technique will be the technique of choice.

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