Use of Static Ultrasound Guidance for Internal Jugular Vein Cannulation in Adult Cardiac Surgical Patients

Overview

Cannulation of the internal jugular vein (IJV) for central venous access is a standard practice in cardiac surgery. In this study, the authors tested the hypothesis that using an ultrasound (US) scanner would increase the success of IJV cannulation and decrease the incidence of complications in adult cardiac surgical patients. The study will include adult cardiac surgical patients, randomized into two groups (control vs. US). In the control group, IJV cannulation will be performed by the conventional landmark technique using Seldinger method. In the US group, the course of the IJV will be marked before cannulation using a 2 - 4 MHz transthoracic echocardiography probe. The success rate, number of attempts, cannulation time and complication rate will be compared for the two groups.

Use of real time ultrasound has recently been recommended as the standard of care for insertion of central venous catheters. However, its usage is limited by various factors which include availability, space constraints and perceived lack of need according to surveys including cardiovascular anesthesiologists. We will conduct a prospective randomized controlled trial to compare the conventional landmark technique with the static ultrasound (US) technique that utilized the transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) ultrasound probe which is supplied along with the transesophageal echocardiography machines for internal jugular vein cannulation in adult cardiac surgical patients. After ethical committee approval and patient consent, adult patients scheduled for elective cardiac surgery will be randomized to undergo internal jugular vein cannulation by either of the two methods: standard landmark technique (group A: control group), static US technique using the TTE probe (group B: ultrasound group). The success rate, number of attempts, total cannulation time and complication rate in the two groups will be compared.