Ultrasound for peripheral and arterial access Lori-Ann Oliver, MD Assistant Professor Department of Anesthesiology

Publication date: Available online 25 October 2019Source: Best Practice & Research Clinical AnaesthesiologyAuthor(s): Jodi-Ann Oliver, Sargis Ohanyan, William Park, Aharon Benelyahoo, Nalini VadiveluAbstractPeripheral venous access is perhaps the most commonly performed procedure in hospitals, urgent care, or surgical centers across the country. Thus, arguably the ability to obtain peripheral intravenous access in a timely manner is one of the most important skill sets to be mastered by health care professionals. While the skill and experience of a health care professional is an important factor in determining successful and timely vascular access, numerous patient factors such as obesity, diabetes, intravenous drug use and chronic kidney disease may pose significant challenges to even the most skilled healthcare professional. In patients with difficult access, there are often multiple attempts, which can be both time consuming for the provider and painful for the patients. Direct visualization of blood vessels using ultrasonography has an advantage over the standard landmark technique and can improve the success rate of peripheral intravenous or arterial line placement in this patient population. Given the success of ultrasound guidance with access placement, it is imperative that all healthcare providers become proficient with this technique. The aim of this review article is to provide concise and practical information on the basics of ultrasound and its application to obt...
Source: Best Practice and Research Clinical Anaesthesiology - Category: Anesthesiology Source Type: research