Ultrasound Guidance Beats Landmark Technique for Central Line Placement in Children

In this respect, maybe children are just small adults (with smaller, harder-to-cannulate veins).

Ultrasound has definitively been shown to facilitate central line placement in adults, and single-center and operating room studies also support its use in children (NEJM JW Emerg Med Nov 2014 and Acad Emerg Med 2014; 21:981). However, oddly, ultrasound is still not always used for central line placement in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs).

These authors conducted a prospective, observational study of central line placement at 26 PICUs in Spain; at each PICU, clinical providers selected the insertion technique. The researchers used propensity matching in their analysis to account for potential confounding.

Of 500 central line placements in 354 patients aged 0 to 18 years, providers chose to use ultrasound guidance for 323 procedures and…

Reviewing Author

Daniel M. Lindberg, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Grant/Research SupportEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; MINDSOURCE

Editorial BoardsThe Quarterly Update: Reviews of Current Child Abuse Medical Research; Child Abuse & Neglect: The International Journal

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesThe Helfer Society (Executive Committee Member)