Ultrasound-guided central venous catheterization: what is the evidence?

In recent years, international health quality assurance organizations have been recommending ultrasound guidance for central venous punctures. This article reviews the evidence behind these recommendations. The MEDLINE, PubMed and SCIELO databases were searched for the following MeSH terms: central venous access, ultrasonography, and adults. The search was conducted on September 24, 2010, and selected meta-analyses, randomized clinical trials and reviews, retrieving 291 papers. The 21 most important papers were analyzed in this review. The internal jugular vein is the most studied ultrasound-guided puncture site, with meta-analysis showing lower relative risks of failure and complications. In addition, the largest available randomized clinical trial demonstrated a reduced central venous catheter-associated blood stream infection rate. There are few studies involving subclavian vein puncture; however, ultrasound was shown to be beneficial in two meta-analyses (however, with small numbers of patients). Regarding the femoral venous site, only one randomized clinical trial (20 patients) was identified, showing positive findings. In a British cost-effectiveness study, ultrasound use lead to resource savings for different sites of venous puncture. There is strong evidence for ultrasound benefit for internal jugular vein puncture. Although the method appears attractive for the other sites, the data are not sufficient to support any recommendation.