[Control of the placement of central venous catheters using x-ray and sonographic methods. A comparative controlled...

At present there is no method available meeting all demands for accurate, simple and non-invasive verification of the position of central venous catheters. Using sonographic methods, it should be possible to verify central venous catheters intracardially or in the superior vena cava. We investigated whether the sonographic imaging of central venous catheters using a mobile echo camera presented an alternative to the usual control method using fluoroscopy. Since the investigated method has a rate of 20 to 30% false positive results and 8 to 26% false-negative results, it cannot be used as a routine alternative to fluoroscopy.