title: Accurate placement of central venous catheters using a 16-cm catheter.
abstract: We determine if use of 16-cm central venous catheters (CVC) minimizes dangerous intracardiac catheter placements. We conducted a prospective study in a large community teaching hospital. Consecutive patients (n = 127) who required a CVC via either the internal jugular (IJV) or the subclavian vein (SCV) were assessed using 16 (n = 102) or 20-cm (n = 25) catheters. The main outcome measurements were (1) intracardiac placement of central venous catheters, and (2) relationship of right- or left-sided internal jugular or subclavian vein insertions to intracardiac catheter placement. Use of a 20-cm CVC resulted in 14 of 25 (56%) intracardiac placements compared with 11 of 102 (11%) using a 16-cm catheter (p < 0.0001). All intracardiac placements with the 16-cm CVC were from right-sided approaches: IJV 7 of 38 (16%), SCV 4 of 18 (18%). Use of a 16-cm CVC to access the central circulation from either the SCV or the IJV results in a significantly greater proportion of safe catheter placements than using longer CVCs, and it should become the standard of care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA, USA.
authors.forename: W T
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: McGee
authors.forename: K P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Moriarty
mesh_terms: D002405:Catheterization, Central Venous / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D004867:Equipment Design; D004869:Equipment Safety; D006801:Humans; D007601:Jugular Veins; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013350:Subclavian Vein