Porcine EJV - Supplementary Data

Placement of intravenous catheters is a vital part of medical care for all animals, and in porcine patients it is difficult due to layers of fat, making veins difficult to locate. Ultrasound is an ideal tool to overcome this challenge, but there is minimal data on the ideal location for placement of the catheter. This study evaluates factors that are important for catheter placement, including the needle angle in relation to the jugular vein and the vein size at the two locations. We hypothesized based on anatomical studies that the location closer to the chest (caudal) would have favorable characteristics for success, including a smaller angle between the vein and the needle, and a larger diameter of the vein. Analysis of measurements showed that the angle for the path of the needle was smaller at the caudal location, and the distance for the needle to travel to the vein was shorter. Vein diameter was found to be larger at the caudal location as well, although the effect was less pronounced. Our hypothesis that the caudal location has a smaller needle angle and larger vessel diameter was confirmed, supporting a potential benefit for caudal location placement.