Ultrasonographic study of the anatomical variations of the internal jugular vein in relation to the common carotid artery

The internal jugular vein is preferred for central venous cannulations due to its superficial position in the neck.Even though there is good success rate for landmarks based technique, close proximity to important structures like common carotid artery always poses a threat of inadvertent vascular puncture. This study aims to evaluate the variations in theposition of the internal jugular vein in relation to the common carotid artery with ultrasound guidance.The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board. Data from 200 patients who were scheduled for elective surgeries were obtained with the aid of ultrasonography. Anatomical variations of the internal jugular vein in relation to the common carotid artery, antero- posterior and transverse diameters of IJV, depth of the internal jugular vein from skin and congenital anomalies if any, were studied. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 11 software. Continuous data were tested using Paired t-test and the statistical significance for categorical/qualitative data was tested using Fishers exact test. The data with P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. In our study the most common location of IJV was lateral to the commoncarotid artery. Small sized internal jugular vein (diameter ≤ 7 mm)was found in 9.5% of patients on the right side and in 13.5% patients on the left side and the difference was not statistically significant. Also, the transverse diameter and depth of IJV from the skin was more on the right side and was statistically significant.