[Central venous catheter. Better routine for placing of catheters]

Malposition of a central venous catheter is a major cause of serious complications such as perforation and cardiac tamponade. To prevent such complications it is necessary to confirm that the catheter tip is in the correct position. Intravascular electrocardiography is a reliable way of ensuring that the catheter tip is placed above the right atrium. With a minimum of extra equipment and training, we have tested the electrocardiography technique applied to our standard central venous catheter equipment (Secalon Seldy and Hydrocath). Our experience is that this technique makes catheter tip placement distal to the right atrium more easy to achieve.