Point of Care Ultrasound Utilization for Vascular Access in Trauma Patients

There is a growing body of literature that suggests using ultrasonography to guide vascular access both increases the efficiency of these procedures and decreases complications. The purpose of this article is to update providers on the benefits of incorporating ultrasound into the care of complex patients requiring vascular access.

Robust meta-anaylses have shown that utilization of ultrasound improves first-attempt success rate while decreasing patient complications in both arterial and venous access. At this time, there is no clear evidence to suggest that either an in-plane or out of plane technique is superior. In addition, advancing technologies have aimed to make the practice of and education for ultrasound guided vascular access more efficient for the provider.

As the care of complex trauma patients evolves, practitioners have incorporated advancing technologies to support basic medical procedures. The utilization of ultrasonography to guide vascular access has been demonstrated superior to classic landmark techniques.