Objective:

To obtain a measurement of the insertion length of the central venous catheter for optimal placement of its tip.

Material and methods:

Prospective non-randomized study from July 2019 to March 2020; patients were grouped into two groups with different insertion site approach, the patients whose catheters were placed using the standardized measurement technique and the control group whose insertion length was a criterion of the physician who performed the procedure were compared, then the position was verified of the tip on chest radiograph. Statistical analysis was performed with statistical significance of <0.05.

Results:

Of a total of 134 patients who required the placement of a central venous catheter, 55 patients underwent the technique with standardized measurement and 79 patients were controls. In the group with the right jugular insertion site, the subgroup subjected to the measurement was compared against the control group and a RR of 5.9 (95% CI 3.0-11.5, p <0.001) was found to present optimal position. In the group with the left jugular insertion site, a RR of 1.9 was found (95% CI 1.0-3.5, p= 0.02).

Conclusions:

The use of a standardized measure predicts an optimal position of the central venous catheter tip in the jugular site.