Ultrasound-Measured Femoral Arterial/Venous Parameters for Guiding Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Catheterization

The femoral artery/vein are commonly used for vascular access in clinical practice. The position, adjoining relationship, and anatomic variation of the femoral artery/vein may affect the success rate of catheterization. Clinically, we found a proportion of anatomic variations in the common position of the femoral artery catheterization. We intended to determine the positioning data of the femoral artery/vein to provide a partial clinical basis for catheterization by ultrasound. At the common femoral artery catheterization site, we used ultrasound to collect data on the femoral artery/vein of 208 samples. We found that the distance from the midpoint of the pubic symphysis to the surface position of the femoral artery, the distance between the central points of the femoral artery/vein, and the inner diameter of the femoral artery were significantly correlated with height, weight, and gender, and were not correlated with age, shock, hypertension, diabetes, and coronary heart disease. If branching of the femoral artery was higher than the inguinal ligament, the inner diameter of the femoral artery at the catheterization site was significantly reduced. We believe that height, weight, gender, and anatomic variation are important factors influencing the adjoining relationship and the inner diameter of the femoral artery. During extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) catheterization, if an arterial branch is found at the femoral artery catheterization site, it is recommended to adjust the catheterization protocol.