Central Venous Catheter Placement With Thoracic Ultrasound and Intracavity ECG Positioning

NCT ID: NCT07291869

Last Updated: 2025-12-18

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

NOT_YET_RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

75 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2026-01-31

Study Completion Date

2027-01-31

Brief Summary

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The goal of this interventional study is to assess the feasibility of two bedside techniques for confirming central venous catheter (CVC) placement and detecting complications:

* Intracavity ECG monitoring to confirm internal jugular vein CVC tip position.
* Thoracic point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) to rule out pneumothorax following CVC insertion.

Participants who require an internal jugular CVC as part of their routine care and meet all inclusion and no exclusion criteria will be randomised to receive either:

* Standard care, or
* The intervention, consisting of intracavity ECG guidance and thoracic POCUS. The CVC will be inserted either on the left or right side of the neck.

All participants will undergo a post-procedure chest X-ray regardless of study arm, to allow comparison of the intervention methods with standard care.

Detailed Description

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Central venous catheters (CVCs) are commonly inserted in critically ill patients to enable the administration of medications, fluids, and monitoring. Following insertion, it is standard practice to perform a chest X-ray (CXR) to confirm correct catheter tip position and exclude complications such as pneumothorax. However, reliance on post-procedure radiography can delay verification of line position, increase patient radiation exposure, and contribute to workflow inefficiency.

Alternative bedside techniques have been proposed to improve the speed and safety of CVC verification. Intracavity electrocardiography (IC-ECG) uses the patient's cardiac electrical activity to confirm the catheter tip's location in real time. When the catheter tip approaches the cavoatrial junction, a characteristic increase in P-wave amplitude is observed, allowing for accurate placement without the need for immediate imaging. Thoracic point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has been shown to be an effective method for detecting pneumothorax following CVC insertion.

This single-centre, prospective, randomised feasibility study will evaluate the combined use of intracavity ECG for tip confirmation and thoracic POCUS for pneumothorax exclusion in patients requiring internal jugular CVC insertion. Eligible participants will be randomised to receive either:

* Standard care (ultrasound-guided insertion with post-procedure CXR), or
* The intervention, consisting of ultrasound-guided insertion supplemented with intracavity ECG confirmation and thoracic POCUS assessment, followed by a post-procedure CXR for comparison.

The primary objective is to determine the feasibility of implementing these combined techniques within a critical care environment, including assessment of recruitment, protocol adherence, and completeness of data acquisition. Secondary outcomes include the accuracy of IC-ECG and POCUS compared to CXR for tip position and pneumothorax detection, and the time required to confirm line placement.

The findings will inform the design of a future multi-centre study to assess diagnostic accuracy, cost-effectiveness, and potential to replace routine post-procedure chest X-ray in appropriate clinical settings.

Conditions

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Central Venous Catheter Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) Intracavitary Electrocardiogram Guiding Feasibility Studies

Keywords

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Intracavity ECG POCUS IC-ECG Thoracic point of care ultrasound

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Pragmatic, single-centre, open, randomised control study
Primary Study Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Outcome Assessors
Investigators analysing post-procedure chest x-rays will be blinded

Study Groups

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LEFT internal jugular vein CVC with IC-ECG and thoracic POCUS

LEFT internal jugular vein CVC with IC-ECG and thoracic POCUS. Post procedure chest x-ray.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Intracavity ECG

Intervention Type DEVICE

Vygon PILOT TLS (Tip Location System) used to provide intracavity ECG monitoring for central venous catheter tip positioning.

Thoracic point of care ultrasound

Intervention Type DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Thoracic point of care ultrasound used to scan both lung fields to rule out pneumothorax

RIGHT internal jugular vein CVC with IC-ECG and thoracic POCUS

RIGHT internal jugular vein CVC with IC-ECG and thoracic POCUS. Post procedure chest x-ray.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Intracavity ECG

Intervention Type DEVICE

Vygon PILOT TLS (Tip Location System) used to provide intracavity ECG monitoring for central venous catheter tip positioning.

Thoracic point of care ultrasound

Intervention Type DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Thoracic point of care ultrasound used to scan both lung fields to rule out pneumothorax

Standard care

Left or right internal jugular vein CVC. Post procedure CXR.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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Intracavity ECG

Vygon PILOT TLS (Tip Location System) used to provide intracavity ECG monitoring for central venous catheter tip positioning.

Intervention Type DEVICE

Thoracic point of care ultrasound

Thoracic point of care ultrasound used to scan both lung fields to rule out pneumothorax

Intervention Type DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Other Intervention Names

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IC-ECG POCUS

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Adult (aged ≥ 18 years)
* Admitted, or planned for admission, to critical care
* Requiring central venous catheter insertion as a part of their usual care
* Suitable for both right or left internal jugular vein insertion

Exclusion Criteria

* Previously randomised into CVC-TIP
* Atrial fibrillation on 12-lead ECG
* Cardiovascular instability, defined as
* Noradrenaline dose \> 0.5mcg/kg/min
* Rapidly escalating doses of vasopressors / inotropes
* Difficulty in obtaining thoracic ultrasound images due to either
* Weight \> 120kg
* Existing pneumothorax (either side)
* Subcutaneous emphysema
* Wounds / dressing over anterior chest wall
* Existing pacemaker
* Non-English speaking participants
* Death perceived as imminent
* Any other reason as determined by treating clinician
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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York Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Andrew Chamberlain, MBChB

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

York Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Locations

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York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

York, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom

Site Status

Countries

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United Kingdom

Central Contacts

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Andrew Chamberlain, MBChB

Role: CONTACT

Phone: +441904 631313

Email: [email protected]

Joseph Carter, MBChB

Role: CONTACT

Phone: +441904 631313

Email: [email protected]

Facility Contacts

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Andrew Chamberlain, MBChB

Role: primary

Joseph Carter, MBChB

Role: backup

References

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Fletcher SJ, Bodenham AR. Safe placement of central venous catheters: where should the tip of the catheter lie? Br J Anaesth. 2000 Aug;85(2):188-91. doi: 10.1093/bja/85.2.188. No abstract available.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 10992821 (View on PubMed)

Kang M, Bae J, Moon S, Chung TN. Chest radiography for simplified evaluation of central venous catheter tip positioning for safe and accurate haemodynamic monitoring: a retrospective observational study. BMJ Open. 2021 Jan 4;11(1):e041101. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-041101.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 33397666 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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360875

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

360875

Identifier Type: OTHER

Identifier Source: secondary_id