Published in:
Open Access 01-12-2018 | Original article
Point-of-care ultrasound evaluation and puncture simulation of the internal jugular vein by medical students
Published in: The Ultrasound Journal | Issue 1/2018
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Objectives
To show that medical students can evaluate the internal jugular vein (IJV) and its anatomical variations after rapid and focused training. We also aimed to evaluate the success rate of IJV puncture in simulation following traditional techniques (TTs) and monitored via ultrasound (US).
Materials and methods
Six medical students without experience with US were given 4 h of theoretical–practical training in US, and then evaluated the IJV and common carotid artery (CCA) of 105 patients. They also simulated a puncture of the IJV at a demarcated point, where a TT was theoretically performed.
Results
Adequate images were obtained from 95% of the patients; the IJV, on the right side, was more commonly found in the anterolateral position in relation to the CCA (38%). On the left side, the most commonly position observed was the anterior (36%). The caliber of the IJV relative to the CCA greatly varied. The success rate in the IJV puncture simulation, observed with US, by the TTs was 55%.
Conclusion
The training of medical students to recognize large neck vessels is a simple, quick, and feasible task and that can be integrated into the undergraduate medical curriculum.