Magnifying lenses to aid umbilical catheter insertion.

Umbilical venous and arterial catheters are frequently inserted into critically ill and preterm newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to administer fluids, drugs and parenteral nutrition; to monitor blood pressure; and for blood sampling(1). Successful catheterisation can be difficult and failure is common because the vessels are small, they are mobile, slippery and easily traumatised. Repeated probing and failure to adequately dilate the opening can cause a false passage adjacent to the vessel that is difficult to correct(2). This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.