[Ultrasound guidance facilitates arterial catheterization]

Ultrasound-guided arterial catheterization has been attempted, and its effectiveness demonstrated. We encountered 3 cases in which arterial catheterization (A-line) was difficult for the following reasons: the arterial lumen was narrow due to arteriosclerosis; the pulse of the radial artery was weak because of swelling in the arm and heart failure; and the deep artery was too hard for the needle to penetrate it. Using ultrasound guidance, arterial catheterization could be smoothly performed in all cases. Thus, ultrasound-guided arterial catheterization is effective for cases in which arterial catheterization using the usual palpation technique is difficult.