I use both techniques and don't belive one is better than the other. If I have a vein that is the exact depth of my needle guide then the needle guide works perferctly. Unfortunately many times the vein is not the depth of your guides so you have to remove the needle from the guide and free hand the insertion. Always use a guide that is angled deeper than the vein...ie if the vein is 1cm deep choose a 1.5cm guide and not the .5cm guide as you can always lower the angle. The best thing about the guides is that you start out in the middle of your probe directly above the vein, as things tend to slip and slide in all the ultrasound gel!
I believe both techniques are acceptable. I think Needle guides hasten the learning curve, but have their limitations. It is more difficult to 'chase' a vein at times with a needle guide, and the depth of some veins precludes the use of a needle guide. Additionally, as clinicians advance their practice to central insertions, needle guides are often cumbersome in the area of insertion.
So, my opinion is the short version is to learn on a needle guide and as you gain muscle memory/hand eye coornination of angles - transition to freehand.
I use both techniques and don't belive one is better than the other. If I have a vein that is the exact depth of my needle guide then the needle guide works perferctly. Unfortunately many times the vein is not the depth of your guides so you have to remove the needle from the guide and free hand the insertion. Always use a guide that is angled deeper than the vein...ie if the vein is 1cm deep choose a 1.5cm guide and not the .5cm guide as you can always lower the angle. The best thing about the guides is that you start out in the middle of your probe directly above the vein, as things tend to slip and slide in all the ultrasound gel!
Teresa Borunda, RN, BS, CRNI
I believe both techniques are acceptable. I think Needle guides hasten the learning curve, but have their limitations. It is more difficult to 'chase' a vein at times with a needle guide, and the depth of some veins precludes the use of a needle guide. Additionally, as clinicians advance their practice to central insertions, needle guides are often cumbersome in the area of insertion.
So, my opinion is the short version is to learn on a needle guide and as you gain muscle memory/hand eye coornination of angles - transition to freehand.
Best regards
Judy