Greater saphenous vein location in a pediatric population

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the accuracy of a landmark technique for cannulation of the greater saphenous vein (GSV) near the medial malleolus. We performed bedside ultrasound in a convenience sample of 100 children, ages 3 to 16 years, to evaluate the anatomy of the GSV at the ankle. Despite the proposed constancy of the landmark technique regardless of patient age, the GSV location varied significantly with increasing patient age and weight. In children less than 10 years old or weighing less than 40 kg, the traditional landmark rarely predicted the precise location of the GSV.