When a Central Line Becomes Necessary
Delivering Powerful Medications Through the Body’s Largest Veins
Why Not Just Use a Regular IV?
Most patients in the emergency department receive a peripheral IV, a small plastic catheter placed into a vein in the hand or arm. It works well for fluids, antibiotics, and routine medications. For most illnesses, that is enough.
But imagine a patient in septic shock, a life threatening condition caused by overwhelming infection. In septic shock, blood vessels dilate, meaning they relax and widen too much, causing blood pressure to drop dangerously low. Even after giving intravenous fluids, the pressure may not recover. At that point, we use medications called vasopressors. These drugs constrict, or tighten, blood vessels to raise blood pressure and restore blood flow to vital organs like the brain, heart, and kidneys. Vasopressors are powerful. If they leak into small veins in the arm, they can damage surrounding tissue. That is when a peripheral IV is no longer enough.
So What Is a Central Line?
A central line, formally called a central venous catheter, is a large, flexible tube inserted into one of the body’s major veins. These veins have high blood flow and large diameter, allowing strong medications to dilute quickly and safely as they enter circulation.
Most emergency central lines have multiple lumens, which are separate internal channels within the same catheter. Each lumen can deliver a different medication or fluid at the same time. In trauma patients, central lines allow rapid transfusion of blood products. In critically ill patients, they provide reliable access when smaller veins collapse due to dehydration, shock, or repeated attempts.
Where Is It Placed?
Central lines are typically placed in one of three major veins. The internal jugular vein runs along the side of the neck. The subclavian vein sits beneath the collarbone. The femoral vein lies in the groin. Each site has advantages and risks depending on the situation.
Today, we commonly use ultrasound guidance, meaning we use real time imaging to see the vein, surrounding arteries, and nearby structures. This dramatically reduces complications compared to older landmark techniques, where doctors relied solely on anatomical positioning without imaging. Under sterile conditions, we numb the skin with local anesthetic, insert a needle into the vein, confirm venous blood return, and pass a thin metal guidewire through the needle into the vessel.
How Does the Catheter Get In?
The technique used is called the Seldinger technique, a standard method for placing catheters into blood vessels. After the guidewire is in place, the needle is removed. A short, firm plastic tube called a dilator is passed over the wire to gently widen the path through the skin and tissue. Then the central line catheter is threaded over the wire into the vein.
The guidewire is removed, the catheter is secured with sutures, and each lumen is flushed and tested to ensure proper blood return and flow. In neck or chest placements, we often obtain a chest X ray afterward to confirm proper positioning and to rule out complications such as pneumothorax, which is air trapped between the lung and chest wall due to accidental lung puncture.
What Are the Risks?
A central line is precise but not trivial. In the neck, the carotid artery runs beside the internal jugular vein. Accidentally puncturing an artery is possible, and dilating an artery instead of a vein can create serious bleeding. In the chest, the lung lies close to the subclavian vein, creating risk of pneumothorax. In the groin, large arteries and nerves sit next to the femoral vein, creating risk of vascular or nerve injury.
There is also risk of infection over time, which is why strict sterile technique is used during placement. The insertion site is cleaned thoroughly, covered with sterile dressing, and monitored carefully. When the central line is no longer needed, it is removed to minimize infection risk.
Why Does It Matter?
When we place a central line, the patient is usually critically ill. Blood pressure is unstable. Organs are not receiving enough oxygen rich blood. Time matters.
A central line does not cure infection. It does not stop bleeding. But it allows us to deliver the medications that will stabilize circulation. It provides reliable, high flow access when physiology is failing. It is not dramatic. It is deliberate. And in the right moment, it can be lifesaving.
THE BOTTOM LINE
• A central line, or central venous catheter, is a large IV placed in a major vein to deliver powerful medications and rapid fluids safely
• It is commonly used in septic shock, trauma, and other forms of critical illness when peripheral IVs are insufficient
• With ultrasound guidance and sterile technique, it is a controlled and precise procedure that supports failing circulation
Written by a Board-Certified Emergency Medicine Physician