Ultrasound Guided Radial Arterial Catheters is More Convincing Than Blind Method

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of ultrasound (US) guided radial artery cannulation as compared to the blind insertion of arterial line in intensive care unit of a tertiary care center. Methodology: One hundred (100) patients were divided into two equal groups. In group I, arterial line was inserted using the blind palpation technique. While in group II, arterial line was inserted with the help of ultrasound guidance. The primary endpoints were time of insertion in 1 st attempts, no. of first successful attempts and maximum number of attempts used for insertion of arterial line. Data was analyzed by using SPSS V23. Chi-square test was used for analysis of gender and successful insertion in 1 st attempt. Independent sample t-test and Mann-Whitney U-test were used to compare quantitative variables.  Results: Mean baseline systolic blood pressure, mean diastolic blood pressure and mean pulse rate before surgery were also not significantly different between the groups. Arterial line was inserted in first attempt in in 88.0% patients in ultrasound guided group and in only 70.0% patients in blind palpation group (p-value 0.027). Arterial line insertion time in 1 st attempt was also significantly less in ultrasound guided group 77.68 + 7.98 seconds versus 95.46 + 15.53 seconds in blind palpation group (p-value <0.001). We also found less number of insertions 1.16 + 0.37 in ultrasound guided group versus 1.44 + 0.67 in blind palpation group (p-value 0.025). Conclusion: Ultrasound guided radial artery cannulation is associated with higher rate of successful insertion and less time is required for arterial line insertion as compared to blind palpation method. Keywords: Radial artery cannulation, Arterial line, ultrasound guided arterial line placement DOI : 10.7176/JMPB/62-09 Publication date: December 31 st 2019