Anatomical features of the right internal jugular vein in infants and young children undergoing heart surgery for congenital disease: comparison between cyanotic and noncyanotic patients.

PURPOSE: It has been reported that children with cyanotic heart disease have elevated systemic levels of vascular endothelial growth factor, which may be related to the development of vessels. However, it is unknown whether the anatomical features of the internal jugular vein (IJV) differ between cyanotic and noncyanotic children. In this study, we compared anatomical information about the IJV of these two groups of patients.

METHODS: We measured the distance between the right IJV and the right carotid artery (distance), the diameter of the IJV (diameter), and the depth of the IJV from the skin (depth), using an ultrasound device, in 100 children (0-34 months) undergoing heart surgery for congenital disease. First, we evaluated the relationship of these measurement values with patient demographic data (age, height, and body weight). Next, we evaluated the effect of the 15 degrees Trendelenburg position on these measurement values.

RESULTS: There were 62 cyanotic and 38 noncyanotic patients. Distance and diameter, but not depth, were well correlated with the demographic data in both patient groups. Diameter in cyanotic patients was highly correlated with the demographic data. Clinically significant changes in the measurement values were not observed in the 15 degrees Trendelenburg position compared with the horizontal position in either patient group.

CONCLUSION: The anatomical features of the right IJV in infants and young children with congenital heart disease were not different in cyanotic and noncyanotic patients, except for the relationship between diameter and the demographic data. In the small patients examined in our study (72% of them were infants), the diameter of the IJV was not sufficiently enlarged by the Trendelenburg position, regardless of whether the patients were cyanotic or noncyanotic.