Objective: To find a body measurement that would serve as an index for determining the length of femoral venous catheter to be inserted to achieve a position near the right atrium.
Methods: A candidate index measurement was chosen, and radiographic measurements of routine femoral venous catheter placements were compared with the placement that may have resulted from use of the index in a group of patients. In a subsequent group, the candidate index was used to choose catheter insertion length, the accuracy of which was again evaluated from routine placement radiographs.
Results: The first series of radiographic measurements predicted that use of the sternal-umbilical-puncture (SUP) index would result in acceptable and accurate catheter tip placement. This was confirmed in the second group of patients in which 11 of 12 catheter tips were within 1 cm of the target position.
Conclusions: The use of the SUP index ensures acceptable accuracy in estimating the required insertion length of femoral catheter when tip placement near the right atrium is the clinical goal.