Sternocleoidomastoid muscle length predicts depth of central venous catheter insertion.

Background: Correct central venous catheter (CVC) insertion avoids serious complications, especially fatal intracardiac impalement. There are only few methods which discussed the depth of CVC insertion previously. Predicting the depth of CVC by body surface landmark is an easy and quick way, which is applied most wildly.

Usefulness of intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography in the assessment of surgical repair of pediatric ventricular septal defects with video-assisted endoscopic techniques in children.

Background: Mini cardiac operative procedures with video-assisted endoscopic techniques for closure of ventricular septal defects (VSDs) in pediatric patients have become quite popular for cardiac surgery. A precise diagnosis is very important for determining the surgical approach, and evaluation by intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) plays a major role in confirmation of the preoperative diagnosis, residual defects, and the need to return to the bypass after repair.

Methods: Sixty-five patients (30 boys and 35 girls; aged 8.