Background: Central venous catheterization is commonly performed by puncturing the internal jugular vein. However, placement of central venous catheters is not without risk. We compared the Argyle and the Insyte in terms of usefulness and incidence of complications during central venous catheterization.
Methods: Twenty adult patients for cardiac operation were randomly allocated into two groups; 10 patients in the Argyle group (Group A) and 10 patients in the Insyte group (Group B).
Results: In both groups, no kinking or stucking of the guide wire occurred during insertion. No accidental puncture of the carotid artery occurred in Group B, while it occurred in one case in Group A. The time required for insertion of the guide wire was not significantly different between the two groups, though it tended to be shorter in Group B than in Group A (19.3 +/- 14.6 sec vs 34.6 +/- 34.0 sec). On ultrasonography, the Argyle was observed to compress the internal jugular vein and to be prone to penetrate both anterior and posterior walls.
Conclusions: Using the Argyle makes it a little more difficult to place the needle in the appropriate venous lumen. We conclude that central venous catheterization with the Insyte was quicker and safer than with the Argyle.