Position of the umbilical venous catheter in neonatal resuscitation

Abstract

The article summarizes many years of experience with radiographs in the neonatal intensive care unit (ICU), provides criteria for the correct and acceptable position of the umbilical venous catheter (UVC). Of the 180 cases observed by the authors, images of 16 clinical cases with incorrectly set UVC, were selected and presented in the article. All radiographs shown are classified depending on the depth of insertion and inadmissible location of the catheter; rationale and interpretation of images are given, with an explanation of possible complications in each case. Based on the above material, the need for "input control" upon admission of a newborn from the maternity ward (transfer to a specialized hospital) was proved in order to prevent the development of complications: pulmonary embolism, iatrogeny.