Modified combined short and long axis method versus oblique axis method in adult patients undergoing right internal jugular vein cannulation: A randomized controlled non-inferiority study

Background: Modified combined short and long axis method (MCSL) can replace oblique axis in-plane method (OA-IP) for internal jugular vein cannulation (IJVC). This randomized, non-inferiority study estimated the efficacy of MCSL compared with OA-IP in right IJVC. Methods: Patients (18–75 yr. old) undergoing right IJVC under local anesthesia were randomly assigned to MCSL or OA-IP group. The primary outcome is the event of first needle pass without posterior vessel wall puncture (PVWP). Secondary outcomes included needle attempts, success rate, puncture and cannulation time, needle visualization, probe placement difficulty and complications. Results: Among 190 randomized patients, 187 were involved in the analysis. The first needle pass without PVWP was 85(89.47%) in the MCSL and 81 (85.26%) in the OA-IP (p = 0.382), with a mean rate difference of 4.2% (95% confidence interval: -5.2–13.6), which confirmed the non-inferiority with the margin of -8%. MCSL group exhibited shorter procedure time and lower complications than OA-IP group. No significant differences were discovered between groups in needle attempts, success rate, incidence of probe placement difficulty and needle visualization. Conclusions: MCSL is non-inferior to OA-IP in first needle pass without PVWP in adults who underwent elective right IJVC and associate with less complications and shorter operating time. Clinical trial registration: ChiCTR, ChiCTR2100046899.