• R L Sheridan, L Petras, and M Lydon.
• Shriners Burns Institute, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
• J Burn Care Rehabil. 1997 Mar 1;18(2):156-8.

AbstractCentral venous catheterization is critically important to the management of burned children, but major morbidity is associated with the technical misadventures that can occur when inserting these devices. We used a bedside ultrasound device to facilitate placement of femoral venous catheters in eight edematous children with an average age of 7.0 years, weight of 23 kg, and burn size of 54%. To our knowledge, this is the first report of this technique in children. All children had central venous catheters placed in the femoral position requiring an average of 2 (range, 1 to 4) venepuncture attempts. There were no mechanical complications. We found the needle guide too cumbersome for our small patients, but found that the ability to mark the anatomy with a pen facilitated accurate catheter placement. In most patients, standard external anatomic landmarks are adequate for accurate catheter placement, however, in this initial experience, we found bedside ultrasound imaging to be a useful adjunct in selected patients with massive soft tissue edema.

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