Use of Static Ultrasound Guidance for Internal Jugular Vein Cannulation in Adult Cardiac Surgical Patients

Cannulation of the internal jugular vein (IJV) for central venous access is a standard practice in cardiac surgery. In this study, the authors tested the hypothesis that using an ultrasound (US) scanner would increase the success of IJV cannulation and decrease the incidence of complications in adult cardiac surgical patients. The study will include adult cardiac surgical patients, randomized into two groups (control vs. US). In the control group, IJV cannulation will be performed by the conventional landmark technique using Seldinger method. In the US group, the course of the IJV will be marked before cannulation using a 2 - 4 MHz transthoracic echocardiography probe. The success rate, number of attempts, cannulation time and complication rate will be compared for the two groups.