Supraclavicular Fossa US View for Catheter Positioning in Right Subclavian Central Venous Catheterization

Central venous catheterization is one of the most common procedures within intensive care medicine. Verification of correct catheter tip placement is a primary aspect of safety and quality of central venous catheterization as malposition may lead to life-threatening complications such as thrombosis, hemothorax, cardiac tamponade, and arrhythmias. Conventional chest x-ray (CXR) is routinely performed after every insertion and is considered gold standard to examine catheter tip location and evaluate for complications such as pneumo- and hemothorax. However, CXR exposes the patient to ionized radiation, requires a considerable amount of time, and is workload-generating for both ICU and radiology staff.

Weber et al has described the use of the right supraclavicular fossa view for real-time ultrasound-guided placement of a central venous catheter (CVC) via the right internal jugular vein (IJV) in adults. This approach has subsequently been validated in a clinical study and has also been used for supraclavicular subclavian line insertion. The approach requires use of a microconvex probe, which couples good image resolution and high scanning depth. The use of a microconvex probe for infraclavicular subclavian central venous catheter (CVC) insertion has been described previously, but this is the first description of the supraclavicular fossa ultrasound view to guide correct catheter tip placement in infraclavicular right subclavian CVC placement.

Inclusion criteria

• Indication for central venous catheter placement.

Exclusion criteria

• Operator unable to visualize the subclavian vein (e.g., in those with subcutaneous emphysema of the chest wall),
• Subclavian vein catheterization deemed inappropriate by the operator,
• Central line/pacemaker/similar device already in place (risk for misinterpretation of the ultrasound image)