Difficulties are rare and do not correlate with lifespan of catheter

doi:10.1136/bmj.311.7012.1090b

From trainee to consultant, BMJ Group offers doctors around the world tailored information, special events, learning resources and recruitment services at every step along their career path.

... by doctors, for doctors, for patients
We are open for entries!

Online learning

BMJ Learning

High-quality CME / CPD for doctors and other healthcare professionals. BMJ Learning features hundreds of accredited, peer-reviewed learning modules in text, video, and audio formats. Find out more

Courses and Qualifications

BMJ Masterclasses

BMJ Masterclasses, led by experts, help clinicians to use the latest evidence and recent guidelines in practice and meet their CPD/CME requirements. Find out more

Exam Preparation

The leading provider of online exam preparation, helping over 167,000 healthcare professionals to pass their exams. Find out more

onExamination

Search all BMJ comment articles:

From

Limit by

Access to the full text of this article requires a subscription or payment. Please log in or subscribe below.

Jacqueline Filshie,
Philippa Wood,
Ruth Griffin,
Claire Nightingale,
Ruth G P R Browne,
D G Skewes

Consultant Senior registrar Senior registrar Registrar Consultant Consultant Department of Anaesthetics, Royal Marsden Hospitals NHS Trust, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5PT

EDITOR,--We strongly support Andy Adam's view that imaging guidance and experience are necessary for the placement of Hickman-type catheters.1 The first surgical insertions of Hickman catheters at the Royal Marsden Hospitals were described in 1979,2 but over the past decade the anaesthetists have developed a comprehensive percutaneous venous access service, and they currently insert over 1000 lines a year. Dedicated theatre lists of up to 10 patients are eminently suitable for consultants to teach the technique to trainee anaesthetists. …