Relationship of the internal jugular vein to the common carotid artery: implications for ultrasound-guided vascular access.

Link to article at PubMed

Relationship of the internal jugular vein to the common carotid artery: implications for ultrasound-guided vascular access.

Eur J Anaesthesiol. 2011 May;28(5):351-5

Authors: Maecken T, Marcon C, Bomas S, Zenz M, Grau T

For cannulation of the internal jugular vein (IJV), ultrasound increases the number of first pass successes and reduces the rate of mechanical complications. A frequent complication of IJV access is the accidental injury of the common carotid artery (CCA), which can be dangerous in some circumstances. Landmarks and palpation of the CCA are used when ultrasound is not available. These conventional methods are based on the lateral position of the IJV to the CCA, and physicians traditionally employ head rotation to increase the success rates of IJV cannulation. Ultrasound scanning strictly from the anterior to posterior is not possible for this process because the probe must be adequately coupled to compensate for the curvature of the neck. Scans have been performed from different angles lateral to the neck, but misleadingly depict the relationship of the IJV to the CCA. In this study, the authors examined the effect of scanning at a 45° angle at the level of the cricoid on the depiction of the IJV in relation to the CCA. Furthermore, the influence of 30° head rotation to the contralateral side was also investigated.

PMID: 21150630 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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