Ultrasound-Guided Popliteal Artery Cannulation: An Alternative for Emergency Arterial Cannulation During Prone Position

Abstract

Arterial cannulation is an essential procedure for invasive blood pressure measurement as well as repeated arterial blood gas sampling in intensive care unit setting. Common sites for placing an arterial cannula are the radial artery, femoral artery, brachial artery, and dorsalispedis artery. In certain situations such as in the case of prone ventilation, arterial cannula from common peripheral sites may get accidentally disconnected and it becomes very difficult for even a senior anesthesiologist to place an arterial cannula in the prone position. In those circumstances, an alternate site such as the popliteal artery may serve as a site for arterial cannulation. Therefore, here we present three cases of severe acute respiratory distress syndrome, whose arterial cannula was accidentally dislodged during prone ventilation maneuver and were successfully managed by ultrasound-guided popliteal artery cannulation.

Keywords

• arterial blood gas
• arterial cannulation
• prone ventilation