Materials & Methods: Total of 45 volunteers aged 18-65 years were included in this study. The degree of overlap in percentage, depth of IJV from skin, antero-posterior (AP) and transverse diameters (TD) of IJV were measured in real time with ultrasound (US). Measurements were taken in the HA, CA and MA in neutral and 30° head rotation on both the right and left side of the neck.
Results: The HA had lower percentage of overlap when compared to CA and MA in neutral and 30° head rotation (p= 0.002 to ≤0.001). The IJV was more shallow in the CA and MA. The AP and TD of the IJV were larger in the MA when compared to HA (p=<0.001) and CA (p =0.026 to < 0.001) and the right IJV has a larger AP and TD in all approaches.
Discussion: The HA had the least percentage of overlap compared to CA and MA, therefore the risk of accidental ICA puncture can be reduced. The apparent overlap seen in MA may not reflect the actual scenario because of the way the US beam cuts the vessel. The AP and TD of IJV were significantly increased in the MA, which would ease CVC.
Conclusion: We conclude and recommend the medial oblique probe position with 30° head rotation provides optimal real time sonographic parameters for US guided IJV cannulation.
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to investigate the sensitivity and specificity of PMCTA in diagnosing coronary artery stenosis using water-based contrast media introduced though the vessels of the neck, compared to the gold standard of diagnosis i.e. gross and histological evaluation of the coronary artery.
METHOD: This was a cross sectional study of 158 arterial sections involving 37 subjects recruited from the National Institute of Forensic Medicine (IPFN), Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL). An unenhanced PMCT was performed followed by PMCTA using water-based contrast media introduced though the vessels of the neck. Coronary artery stenosis was determined using multiplanar reconstructionD while the degree of stenosis was determined by calculating the percentage of luminal diameter divided by the diameter of the vessel internal elastic.
RESULTS: The analysis of PMCTA and histopathology examinations revealed a sensitivity of 61.5%, specificity of 91.7%; positive predictive value (PPV) of 40.0% and negative predictive value (NPV) of 96.4%.
CONCLUSION: PMCTA utilizing water-based contrast introduced though the vessels of the neck yielded similar results as other methods and techniques of PMCTA. We would therefore conclude that PMCTA utilizing this technique could be used to assess the degree of calcification and the presence of significant stenosis.