Ultrasound Guided Central Venous Vascular Access - Novel Needle Navigation Technology Compared With Conventional Method: A Prospective Randomized Study

Introduction Central venous catheter (CVC) insertion is a very common procedure in the intensive care setting. A recent international guideline advocates the use of ultrasound for routine internal jugular central venous catheter insertion1. The needle navigation technology is a new innovation, also known as guided positioning system (GPS) which allows clinician to visualize the needle position and trajectory in real time as it approaches the target. We hypothesised that the use of GPS would increase success rate and decrease performance time in vascular access procedures. The objectives of this study are to compare the success, efficacy and safety of central venous catheter insertion via internal jugular vein using the ultrasound guidance with conventional method versus needle navigation technology.

Methods:

This was a prospective randomized controlled study. It was conducted in a single centre - intensive care unit (ICU), University of Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from February 2016 to October 2016. The ethic committee approval was obtained from the Malaysian medical research and ethics committee, MREC at the www.nih.gov.my (NMRR-16-334-29476).

The inclusion criterion was patients in the ICU who required central venous vascular access. The exclusion criteria were refusal to participate in this study by patient or their legal representative and patient with known history of difficult central venous access at internal jugular vein (IJV). The procedure operators were doctors in anaesthesia residency program with various level of experiences classified into 3 groups: 1 to < 2 years, 2 to < 3years, 3 years and above. Simply speaking all the operators have had previous training in ultrasound guided vascular access procedure. This would ensure that patient's safety is not compromised.

Study would be proceeded after obtaining consent from patient or the next of kin. The emergency verbal consent would be taken if the next of kin was not immediately available with subsequent written consent to follow. The available operator would perform CVC insertion via IJV using ultrasound guidance out of plane approach either with conventional method or needle guidance technology.