A new paper in JAMA Internal Medicine overstates the risks of central venous catheter placements, asserting that 3% of CVC placements result in either arterial puncture, pneumothorax, bloodstream infection, or deep venous thrombosis, within 3 days.
Let’s take a look at the methods they used to arrive at this surprising finding.
Authors included 130 studies published 2015-2023, “to ensure that included studies were representative of current medical practices, including ultrasonography guidance.” But less than half of the included studies used ultrasound guidance during central line placements. Ultrasound guidance during CVC placement has been a recommended practice since 2001 by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, with multiple professional societies echoing that recommendation in the following decade. In a 2018 survey of 136 ED and ICU attendings and trainees in the state of Maryland (limited by its small size and response bias), 96% reported using ultrasound for internal …
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to PulmCCM to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.