[Evaluation of central venous catheters by endocavitary ECG]

Jugular vein catheterization (JVC) is adopted for blood access in patients with acute renal failure, chronic renal failure and when patients demonstrate traditional vascular access (VA) failure. We believe that the best technique, first described by Serafini et al, to establish the position of a central venous catheter (CVC) is endocavitary electrocardiography (EC-ECG) and its use is recommended in all uremic patients requiring hemodialysis (HD). This technique uses the tip of the CVC as a reference point in standard electrocardiography. From 2001 to March 2004, we successfully applied this CVC technique in 33 patients requiring HD. The EC-ECG technique is a method that complies with the Food and Drug Administration guidelines regarding catheter tip location in uremic patients.