Ultrasound for Arterial lines - no brainer

Ultrasound guided placement of CVCs (central venous catheters) is now pretty much a standard in ICUS - at least in USA but fewer clinicians are using it for arterial catheterization.

This month of 'chest' has published a meta-analysis of 4 trials with a total of 311 subjects were included in the review, with 152 subjects included in the palpation group and 159 in the ultrasound-guided group.

Results showed that compared with the palpation method, ultrasound guidance for arterial catheterization was associated with a 71% improvement in the likelihood of first-attempt success.


Ultrasound-Guided Catheterization of the Radial Artery, A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials, Ariel L. Shiloh, MD, Richard H. Savel, MD, Laura M. Paulin, MD, MHS and Lewis A. Eisen, MD, FCCP. From the Division of Critical Care Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY