| Sub-title | |
| Author | V Grech |
| Abstract | Femoral venous access is useful in critically ill children. This study documents 99 femoral venous central lines or cannulas in a general paediatric setting, which included neonates and intensive care patients. This study was carried out in SLH, a regional hospital catering for all of the Maltese paediatric population. There were no long term complications associated with femoral venous access. The failure rate was 3.0%. No case resulted in systemic sepsis, and in two patients, lines were removed due to erythema at the entry site. Four neonates (4.0% overall, 7.3% of neonates) developed transiently swollen legs after line removal. In conclusion, the low incidence of complications associated with femoral venous access should prompt carers to seek early help from intensivists or cardiologists if such access is desired. Trainees should be adequately supervised in this technique as it has its own particular complications. A training device for femoral access is also available. |
Published in: | |
| Journal | Malta Medical Journal |
| Volume | Volume 15 (suppl) |
| Pages | - |
| Date | |
| Link to journal | |
| Key words | femoral venous access, general paediatrics |