Pediatr Crit Care Me
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Dec 2016
Ultrasound Guidance and Other Determinants of Successful Peripheral Artery Catheterization in Critically Ill Children.
Peripheral arterial catheterization is a common invasive procedure performed in critically ill children. However, the benefits of using ultrasound guidance for this procedure in critically ill children, especially when used by inexperienced trainees, are unclear. Our aims were to evaluate whether the use of ultrasound guidance for the placement of radial arterial catheters reduced time and improved success when compared with the palpation method and also to determine patient and trainee variables that influence procedure outcomes. Finally, we evaluated whether adoption of ultrasound guidance among trainees comes at the expense of learning landmark-based methods. ⋯ The use of ultrasound guidance by trainees for radial artery catheterization in critically ill children is associated with improved outcomes compared with the palpation method.