[Current state of central venous catheterization in the operating theater in Japan]

Central venous catheterization is usually done in operating theater after general anesthesia. However, life-threatening complications can occasionally occur. Recently, application of ultrasound especially ultrasound-guided venipuncture has become popular for safe and reliable procedure. We investigated the current state of central venous catheterization by a questionnaire survey. 131 anesthesiologists answered the survey. The most common site for cathererization was internal jugular vein (85%). 97% of anesthesiologists use Seldinger's technique. Before internal jugular vein cathererization, 47% of anesthesiologists commonly and 19% of anethesiologists occasionally use ultrasound for checking the vein. Ultrasound-guided venipuncture was performed commonly by 19% and occasionally by 59% of anesthesiologists. The most common ultrasound device was iLook (37% of anesthesiologists, Japan Sherwood). The survey showed that 79% of anesthesiologists apply ultrasound for central venous catheterization in the operating theater. Establishing the standard technique and training methods will be the subsequent issue.