Central venous catheterization is a procedure frequently performed in daily clinical practice. The use of ultrasound during central venous catheter placement has significantly reduced the number of complications. However, while the outcome of the procedure has significantly improved, the number of legal disputes has increased. Despite the current legislation has repeatedly stressed the importance of adequately collecting informed consent, to date many legal cases show that this procedure is only superficially followed. The objective of the present work is to analyze the various phases of central venous catheterization, with the aim of making useful suggestions to avoid potential medical-legal problems.
Keywords: central venous catheter; civil liability; legal issues in medicine; prevention.
Copyright by Società Italiana di Nefrologia SIN, Rome, Italy.