According to my opinion, ultrasonography is equivalent check modality compared to chest X-ray after insertion of a central venous catheter.
Routine indication of chest X-ray 2 hours after insertion of the central venous catheter is easy and buck-passing approach since
- – attending physician does not have to do anything since the work is passed on middle medical personnel and
- – many pneumothoraxes are not visible when using regular chest X-ray.
BUT! An unrecognised pneumothorax at 14:00 can end up as tension pneumothorax and death of the patient at 2:00 a.m.
How to check the position of the central venous catheter using ultrasound?