Aim: It is crucial to maintain constant intravenous access for critically ill children, particularly in emergencies. The central venous catheter is inserted under ultrasound guidance or the Landmark technique. The main goal of this study is to compare the outcomes between ultrasound-guided and Landmark techniques for central venous catheter insertion.
Study Design: Patients admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit between April 2021 and April 2023 with central vascular access to the internal jugular vein were included in the study. The patients were divided into two groups based on the catheter insertion method: Landmark technique (Group I) and ultrasound-guided (Group II). All catheterization procedures were performed by the same staff members. The outcomes included demographic data of the patients, appropriate insertion, and the development of complications.
Results: One hundred twenty-six internal jugular vein catheterization procedures were enrolled in this study. In Group I, the mean hemoglobin level before catheter insertion was 10.32±2.37 gr/dl, and the mean hemoglobin level after catheter insertion was 9.25±1.82 gr/dl. In Group II, the mean hemoglobin level before catheter insertion was 11.70±1.28 gr/dl, and the mean hemoglobin level after catheter insertion was 11.25±1.28 gr/dl. The decrease in hemoglobin levels was statistically significant (P=0.01). Similarly, the decrease in platelet count was greater in Group I (328.723,40±167.272,84 vs. 272.170,21±141.128,72) than in Group II (273.886,08±140.184,31 vs. 261.126,58±143.932,17), and this difference was statistically significant (P=0.01).
Conclusion: The findings display that ultrasound-guided catheterization reduces side effects from catheter insertion. Hence, ultrasound-guided catheterization is extremely recommended for seriously sick children.