Single Center Experience of Ultrasonography-guided Bedside Procedures for Surgical Patients

Abstract

Purpose: Ultrasound guidance for bedside procedures reduces the risk of complications. This e aim of this study is to stateexamined the experiences of the ultrasonography-guided bedside procedures performed by surgeons in the intensive care unit. Methods: Patients who underwent ultrasonography-guided bedside procedures from October 2016 to October 2017 were reviewed retrospectively. The baseline characteristics of the population, procedures performed, occurrence of complications, and coagulation-re-lated parameters were obtained from the electronic medical records. Results: A total 113 procedures were collected and analyzed. The most frequently performed procedure was ultrasonography-guided central venous catheterization (CVC) (75 cases, 66.4%), followed by thoracentesis (41 cases, 36.3%) and paracentesis (7 cases, 6.2 %). A total of five complications (4.4%) occurred after the procedures, three events after CVC insertion, and two events after thoracentesis. After CVC, two pneumothorax and one hemothorax occurred, which were managed by chest tube insertion. Two events after thoracentesis were a pneumothorax, which required chest tube insertion, and a combined ten-sion-pneumothorax with a hemothorax, which required thoracoscopic surgery for bleeder ligation. Conclusion: Ultrasonography-guided bedside procedures are a simple and fast modality available for surgeons. Despite the safety of ultrasonography-guided procedure, there is some concern regarding the development of complications.