Background:

Placing central venous lines under ultrasonographic guidance reduces the complications of the procedure.

Aim:

To compare prevalences of complications of central venous line placements with or without ultrasonographic guidance.

Material and Methods:

Descriptive study that contemplated the comparison of two groups of patients subjected to a central venous line placement at a nephrology service for renal replacement therapy. In one group of 100 patients, the line was placed without ultrasonographic guidance between 2008 and 2012. Between 2015 and 2017 the line was placed in 138 patients using ultrasonographic guidance. The prevalences of complications with both types of procedures were recorded.

Results:

The frequency of complications of procedures with and without ultrasonographic guidance was 0.7 and 18% respectively (prevalence ratio 0.04, 95% confidence interval 0-0.3). Ninety five percent of recorded complications were arterial puncture, followed by hematomas in 10% and pneumothorax in 5%. The higher prevalence of complications was observed in emergency line placement without ultrasonographic guidance. There was a direct association between the number of line placement attempts in a single procedure and the prevalence of complications.

Conclusions:

Ultrasonographic guidance is associated with a reduction in the prevalence of central venous line complications.