A Feasible Method for Vein Puncture and Drug Administration in Rats: Ultrasound-guided Internal Jugular Vein Puncture

Abstract

ObjectiveIn the majority of animal experiments, vein puncture is necessary for the drugs administration. This study aimed to propose a new vein puncture method, ultrasound-guided internal jugular vein (IJV) puncture, and compare it with the traditional tail vein puncture. MethodsWe divided 24 male SpragueDawley rats randomly into 2 groups: 12 rats in the tail vein puncture group and other 12 rats in the ultrasound-guided IJV puncture group. After successful puncture, rats from two groups were injected with 0.1 mL ultrasound contrast agents. The average puncture time, the success rate of the first puncture, and the imaging effects of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in the sciatic nerve and liver parenchyma of rats after injecting ultrasound contrast agents were evaluated using time–intensity curves for both different puncture methods. ResultsThe average puncture time of the ultrasound-guided IJV group was lower than that of the tail vein puncture group (p = 0.013), and the success rate of the first puncture was significantly higher than that of the tail vein puncture group (p = 0.037). There were no significant differences in the imaging effects of contrast-enhanced ultrasound on the sciatic nerve and liver parenchyma between the two different puncture methods. Additionally, neither of the two puncture methods resulted in obvious symptoms such as hematoma formation, convulsions, restlessness or even death in rats. ConclusionsUltrasound-guided IJV puncture could be a safe, effective method with a high success rate for rat vein puncture and drug administration, which could be an alternative to rat tail vein puncture.