Choice of route for central venous cannulation: subclavian or internal jugular vein? A prospective randomized study.

The clinical need for central venous cannulation has been well established. The usual route for catheter placement is by either the subclavian or internal jugular vein. No randomized, prospective evaluation has been yet conducted to determine which of these approaches, if either, is better with respect to reliability, placement, and frequency of nonseptic complications. One hundred consecutive patients requiring elective central venous cannulation were randomized to either the subclavian or internal jugular route. Successful venipuncture and catheter passage were significantly more common with the subclavian route, and in the absence of special clinical situations, it appears to be the route of choice.