The American journal of emergency medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Standard-length catheters vs long catheters in ultrasound-guided peripheral vein cannulation.
Ultrasound (US) is a useful tool for peripheral vein cannulation in patients with difficult venous access. However, few data about the survival of US-guided peripheral catheters in acute care setting exist. Some studies showed that the survival rate of standard-length catheters (SC) is poor especially in obese patients. The use of longer than normal catheters could provide a solution to low survival rate. The aim of the present study was to compare US-guided peripheral SCs vs US-guided peripheral long catheters inserted with Seldinger technique (LC) in acute hospitalized patients with difficult venous access. ⋯ Both SC and LC US-guided cannulations have a high success rate in patients with difficult venous access. Notwithstanding a higher time to cannulation, LC US-guided procedure is associated with a lower risk of catheter failure compared with SC US-guided procedure.