Dimensions of internal jugular veins in Turkish children aged between 0 and 6 years in resting state and during Valsalva maneuver.

Objective: We aimed to establish the values of the internal jugular vein (IJV) sizes in Turkish children aged between 0 and 6 years.

Methods: Ninety-four normal children included in this study. All of the children were imaged by ultrasonography (USG) at the level of the cricoid cartilage. The maximal antero-posterior (AP) and transverse (T) diameters of the IJV were measured during regular breathing and Valsalva maneuver.

Results: The mean transverse diameter of the right and left IJV were 8.11+/-3.01 and 7.64+/-2.68 mm in resting state. These values changed to 12.57+/-4.34 and 10.82+/-3.80 mm in Valsalva state, respectively. The AP diameters were found to be 5.43+/-2.07 for the right and 5.86+/-4.53 mm for the left IJV at rest. During VM, these values changed to 8.70+/-2.40 and 8.30+/-2.90 mm for the right and left IJV, respectively. There was no significant difference on the evaluation of the relationship between the right and left diameters of the IJV. While there were significant differences in sizes between the resting and Valsalva states. Also, the T diameter of the right IJV during Valsalva state was greater than those of the left. There were significant correlations between the diameters of the IJV and the age, weight and height of the children.

Conclusion: The results we obtained in this study may be important in an attempt of intravascular intervention to IJV. These values may also be important for the comparison with the IJV sizes of the patients who have phlebectasia.