Comparison of Outcomes in Heart Bypass Patients Undergoing Insertion of an Internal Jugular Vein Central Line by Ultrasound Compared to Traditional Landmark Technique

Patients that undergo heart bypass surgery require central line placement from a healthcare provider. To place this device one must use either ultrasound guided or landmark technique. Using ultrasound guided compared to landmark technique may reduce complications. The goal of this project was to determine if ultrasound use of central line placement is a safer practice compared to using the traditional technique.A retrospective chart review was performed to compare internal jugular central line placement by ultrasound with the traditional landmark placement to evaluate results related to patient outcomes. Data from fifty health records were analyzed using chi-square. The complications examined included cannulation failures, arterial punctures, pneumothoraxes, hematomas, and hemothoraxes. The differences in complications between the two techniques analyzed in this project did not reach the level of significance required to reject the null hypotheses.