title: Insertion of Temporary Dialysis Catheters with the Aid of Real-time Ultrasound.
abstract: Central venous catheters are widely used for both temporary and long-term angioaccess for hemodialysis. Insertion of these catheters is commonly performed using anatomic landmarks to guide vessel cannulation. Using traditional landmark-techniques, internal jugular venous catheter insertion is successful 82-88% of the time, with successful first-attempt cannulation of only 35-38%. Variations in anatomic relationships between the vein and surrounding structures may contribute to difficulty in venous cannulation using these traditional techniques. Real-time ultrasound guidance permits direct visualization of the target vein during catheter placement and is associated with increased successful cannulation (78-83% on first pass; 97-100% overall), a decreased number of attempts and a decreased complication rate. For this reason, we believe that real-time ultrasound-guided catheter insertion is superior to the traditional anatomic-landmark techniques and is emerging as the new standard of care.
authors.affiliation: Renal Section, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System and the Department of Medicine, Renal-Electrolyte Division, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Aslam
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Palevsky