Femoral venous catheterization during cardiopulmonary resuscitation: a critical appraisal.

The placement of femoral venous catheters inserted during unsuccessful resuscitation attempts was studied by postmortem angiograms through the catheters. In 31% of the catheterizations the final position of the catheter was not in the femoral vein. We conclude that femoral venous catheterization by inexperienced operators is an unreliable technique during cardiopulmonary resuscitation.