POCUS increases successful placement of peripheral arterial lines in neonates by less experienced providers.

Abstract

To assess success of peripheral arterial line (PAL) placement after implementing a point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) program in a neonatal intensive care unit. This was a retrospective chart review of infants who underwent successful PAL placement from January 2019 to March 2021. Outcomes included first-attempt success and the number of attempts with and without the use of POCUS. Among 80 PALs, 36% were POCUS-guided. All POCUS-guided lines were placed by providers with < 5years neonatology experience. Among infants ≥ 2.5kg, the use of POCUS was associated with fewer attempts compared to non-POCUS PAL placement (1 vs. 2, p = 0.035). Conclusions: Use of POCUS for PAL placement was associated with fewer attempts for successful placement in infants ≥ 2.5kg by providers with less neonatology experience compared with traditional method. What is Known: • Arterial line placement in neonates has been traditionally done by palpation and can be technically challenging. • POCUS is an emerging tool in the NICU with increasing number of less clinically experienced providers in the NICU having access to ultrasound. What is New: • Use of POCUS by less experienced clinicians for arterial line placement resulted in fewer attempts compared to the traditional landmark-based approach in a cohort of neonates.