Anesth Pain Med.  2019 Jan;14(1):106-111. 10.17085/apm.2019.14.1.106.

Effect of the lateral tilt position on femoral vein cross-sectional area in anesthetized adults

• An TH
• Shin YS
• Kim JW
• Park TW
• Shim DJ
• Kim DS
• Ryu SJ
• Kim JD

• KMID: 2434208
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.17085/apm.2019.14.1.106

Abstract

BACKGROUND
A lateral tilt position can affect the size of the femoral vein (FV) due to increased venous blood volume in the dependent side of the body.
METHODS
Forty-two patients, aged 20-60 years, were enrolled in this study. The crosssectional area (CSA), anteroposterior, and transverse diameters of the FV were measured 1 cm below the left inguinal line using ultrasound. The value of each parameter was recorded in the following four positions: (1) supine, (2) supine + 10° left-lateral tilt (LLT), (3) 10° reverse Trendelenburg (RT), and (4) RT + LLT.
RESULTS
CSAs of the left FV in the supine, supine + LLT, RT, RT + LLT positions were 0.93 ± 0.22, 1.11 ± 0.29, 1.17 ± 0.29, and 1.31 ± 0.32 cm2, respectively. Compared to the supine position, there was a significant increase in CSA and anteroposterior diameter according to the three changed positions. The transverse diameter of the left FV was significantly increased in supine + LLT, RT, RT + LLT positions compared to that in the supine position (P = 0.010, P = 0.043, P = 0.001, respectively). There was no significant difference in the transverse diameter of the left FV between the supine + LLT and RT positions (P = 1.000).
CONCLUSIONS
Adding LLT to the supine and RT positions increased the CSA of the unilateral FV significantly.

Keyword

Catheterization; Femoral vein; Posture; Ultrasonography

MeSH Terms

Adult*
Blood Volume
Catheterization
Femoral Vein*
Humans
Posture
Supine Position
Ultrasonography

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Depiction of the measurements performed for the left femoral artery (FA) and femoral vein (FV) on ultrasound images. A: cross-sectional area. B: anteroposterior diameter of the FV. C: transverse diameter of the left FV. D: non-overlapping transverse diameter of the left FV.

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