ABSTRACT
The establishment of specialized units for the care of the newborn, with advanced monitoring, ventilation techniques and support for the ill newborn, has markedly increased their chance for survival.1 Vascular access is one of the tools which has enabled neonatologists and surgeons to provide ongoing therapy for the babies, while at the same time securing avenues for invasive monitoring of the condition and progress of these very ill patients. The therapeutic advantages which the various catheters and cannulae provide include the ability to administer fluids and electrolytes, blood products, drugs and sophisticated nutritional formulas. The monitoring benefits derived from these catheters are mostly for obtaining blood samples for analysis, measuring arterial and venous pressures, and providing minute-by-minute control and response to the various therapeutic modalities, particularly ventilatory. Significant clinical advances have been brought about by the introduction of sophisticated and miniaturized monitoring instruments that have been coupled with the development of new catheters and devices for their introduction.2
