MedPath

Comparison of Bedside Ultrasound With Chest X-ray for Confirmation of Central Venous Catheter Position

Completed
Conditions
Malposition, Central Venous Catheter
Pneumothorax Iatrogenic Postprocedural
Registration Number
NCT02959203
Lead Sponsor
Amsterdam UMC, location VUmc
Brief Summary

Background:

Insertion of a central venous catheter (CVC) could lead to a variety of complications.

To detect those complications, Chest X-ray (CXR) is still the reference standard. However, there are major limitations in performing CXR's in the critical care setting.

Aim/objectives:

The objective of this study is to compare the use of bedside ultrasound (US) to conventional CXR in visualization of accuracy and safety of the CVC placement. The aim is to eventually replace X-ray with bedside ultrasound as gold standard for the confirmation of CVC-placement in critically ill patients, thereby reducing radiation exposure and unnecessary delay before CVC use.

Methods:

The bedside US will be performed by the student or attending physician, who is blinded for CXR findings. After US examination, the attending physician (or student) will fill in a structured form, based on an established protocol. CXR will be performed before or after US examination and assessed by a radiologist. The radiologist will be blinded for the findings of the bedside ultrasound to prevent any biases. Final diagnosis will be determined after examination of the complete medical chart.

Detailed Description

Most patients admitted to an intensive care unit undergo central venous catheterization (CVC) or already have received a CVC. Over 5 million CVC placements are performed each year in the United States. An indication of central venous access is for example when peripheral veins are inaccessible or for the administration of potent vasoactive drugs such as norepinephrine or dopamine. Three anatomical sites are frequently used to insert a CVC: the subclavian, jugular and femoral site. Although central venous catheterization offers multiple advantages, it is associated with adverse events that could be hazardous for patients. Mechanical, infectious or thrombotic complications could occur. Most common mechanical complications include arterial puncture, hematoma and pneumothorax. Besides mechanical complications, malposition of a CVC could also lead to complications, including phlebitis, perforation, and venous thrombosis or occlusion. Malposition of the CVC tip into the right atrium could also lead to arrhythmias. The frequency of primary mal-positioning has been shown to be up to 3.7%. A recent multicenter trial, which included 3471 catheters in 3027 patients, showed that subclavian-vein catheterization was associated with a lower risk of bloodstream infection and symptomatic thrombosis but involved a higher risk of pneumothorax as compared to jugular-vein or femoral-vein catheterization. The risk of mechanical complications in subclavian, jugular or femoral catheterization was 2.1%, 1.4% and 6% respectively.

To date, the post-procedural chest X-ray (CXR) has been the reference standard to detect these mechanical complications. Some studies suggest that it should not be considered a reliable procedure for detecting complications in the absence of clinical symptoms. In addition, reading of a bedside CXR alone is not very accurate to identify intra-atrial tip position. The exceedingly low complication rate after right internal jugular vein catheterization suggests that, to detect pneumothorax and intra-atrial malposition, routine post-procedure CXR is neither necessary nor accurate and causes delay until catheter use. Omitting the need for CXR could reduce healthcare costs as well.

Due to some clear advantages, there has already been an increasing role for ultrasonography in the critical care setting. In comparison to radiography, an advantage of ultrasound is that the patient is not exposed to radiation, and is often faster performed. Compared to the traditional 'blind' landmark method, ultrasound-guided subclavian cannulation reduces failed catheterizations and complications associated with subclavian catheterization. Advantages of ultrasound-guided cannulation include correct identification of the vein, detecting variable anatomy and reducing events of arterial puncture. Due to the developing knowledge and techniques in ultrasound, is has been suggested that it would be a suitable method to replace CXR in the role of detecting pneumothorax and identifying CVC tip position. A small number of studies already demonstrated this effect.

In this study we evaluate the use of ultrasound as diagnostic modality in patients after CVC placement in the subclavian or jugular vein. This research proposal aims to evaluate US examination as diagnostic tool for misplacement, bleeding and pneumothorax after CVC-placement. Combining the different strategies from previous studies. we developed "tHe UltraSound evaluation of Cvc Insertion" i.e. HUSCI-protocol. Hereby, we aim to improve accuracy The outcome measure will be the sensitivity and specificity of US. In addition, diagnostic concordance between US and CXR in patients after CVC placement will be studied. If US catches clinical relevant findings accurately we can replace standard expensive and harmful CXR as standard diagnostic tool in patients after CVC-placement in the future. We hypothesize that US can confirm correct CVC placement and detect potential associated complications accurately.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
750
Inclusion Criteria
  • Age above 18
  • Central venous cannulation performed
  • CVC in internal jugular vein or subclavian vein
Exclusion Criteria
  • Refusal to undergo ultrasound examination
  • Refusal to undergo chest X-ray
  • CVC in femoral vein
  • PICC

Study & Design

Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Study Design
Not specified
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound to detect CVC malpositionAccuracy will be measured after ultrasound and Chest X-ray evaluation (expected time frame: 3 hours)

Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) are used as accuracy outcome parameters. A 'true positive' result is defined as an US-suggested aberrant position of the CVC (catheter tip in any other vein than the superior vena cava (SVC), outside the venous system, or positioned deep in the right atrium or ventricle) confirmed by CXR. If bedside US rules out an aberrant position of the catheter tip correctly it is considered to be a 'true negative' result

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Feasibility of ultrasoundFeasiblity will be measured after ultrasound and Chest X-ray evaluation (expected time frame: 3 hours)

Ultrasound is considered to be feasible if all US-views in the protocol can be obtained

Diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound to detect pneumothoraxAccuracy will be measured after ultrasound and Chest X-ray evaluation (expected time frame: 3 hours)

Interobserver and overall percent agreement between US and CXR is calculated

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

VU University Medical Center

🇳🇱

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

© Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved by MedPath