Assessment of the Ability of Anaesthetists to Locate the Internal Jugular Vein by the Anatomic Landmark Technique with Ultrasonography: Right or Left, Does it Make any Difference?

Objective: To assess senior and junior anaesthetists' ability to locate the right and left jugular vein (IJV) using the anatomic landmark technique.

Methods: A total of 45 anaesthetists were included in this study. Initially, a questionnaire assessing the experiences of the anaesthetists was completed. The anaesthetists were grouped into two groups, junior and senior. The anaesthetists, who were blind to the screen, were asked to point to the internal jugular vein bilaterally on the neck of a healthy volunteer using an ultrasound probe with the midpoint as an 'imaginary needle'. The success rates for locating the right and left IJV in both junior and senior groups were assessed separately.

Results: The success rate for locating the right IJV was 88% (n=26, 23/26) in the senior and 68.4% (n=19, 13/19) in the junior group (p<0.001). The success rate for locating the left IJV was 69% (18/26) in the senior and 78% (15/19) in the junior group (p<0.001), while the difference in success rates for locating the right and left IJV in the senior group was found to be statistically significant (p<0.001).

Conclusion: Both use of the anatomic landmark technique and experience increased the success rate. Especially in the less preferred left IJV catheterization, use of the anatomic landmark technique independent of the experience factor could increase the success rate.