A survey of the use of portable ultrasound for central vein cannulation on critical care units in the UK : Apparatus
✍ Scribed by P. Jefferson; M. N. Ogbue; K. E. StC. Hamilton; D. R. Ball
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2002
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 68 KB
- Volume
- 57
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0003-2409
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✦ Synopsis
A questionnaire was sent to 288 critical care units in the UK to assess the use of portable ultrasound machines to assist central vein cannulation. There was a 58% response rate. Ultrasound guidance was used by 36 (21.6%) units for central vein cannulation. Of these, only four (11.1%) used it routinely and 25 (69.4%) used it when faced with a difficult vein cannulation. Half of the units with ultrasound facilities may be using it suboptimally. Of those units not using ultrasound for central vein cannulation, 70 (53%) said it was because of lack of equipment and 51 (38.9%) did not think that it was necessary. Overall, over half of the units did not audit complications of central vein cannulation.