The Anatomic Relationship of Femoral Vein to Femoral Artery in Euvolemic Pediatric Patients by Ultrasonography: Implications for Pediatric Femoral Central Venous Access

摘要

This study defined the relationship of the femoral vein to the femoral artery in pediatric patients (aged up to 9 years).Eighty-four euvolemic subjects were enrolled, having a variety of ages (young infant and 1-, 3-, 5-, 7-, and 9-year-olds).For patients younger than 7 years, a 5- to 10-MHz linear array hockey stick probe was used, and for those older than 7 years, a 4- to 7-MHz curved array transducer was used. Transducers were placed 1 cm below the inguinal ligament, over the pulsation of the femoral artery. Images were obtained in the supine position and reverse Trendelenburg with the hips slightly externally rotated.The authors found that in their series, the femoral artery and the femoral vein completely overlapped in 8% of cases and partially overlapped in 4%.