title: Use of echocardiography to identify appropriate placement of a central venous catheter wire in the vena cava prior to cannulation.
abstract: Ultrasound guidance is now the standard of care when placing a central venous catheter (CVC), resulting in decreased complications and increased first-pass success rates. However, even with ultrasound guidance being used for the initial venipuncture, misplacement of a CVC in either an unwanted vein or in an artery still occurs. Here, we discuss a simple technique to assist in the adequate placement of the CVC in the vena cava using bedside echocardiography.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Tennessee College of Medicine Chattanooga, Emergency Heart-Stroke Center, Erlanger Medical Center, Chattanooga, TN. J.owen.avila@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jacob O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Avila
authors.forename: Benjamin C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Seaberg
mesh_terms: D002405:Catheterization, Central Venous / Q000379:methods*; D004452:Echocardiography; D006801:Humans; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional / Q000379:methods*; D014682:Vena Cava, Inferior / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*