Catheterisation of the jugular vein of 12-day-old suckling piglets group-housed with littermates and the sow

Collection of blood samples by venipuncture requires isolation, restraint and immobilisation, which is stressful for piglets and may result in unreliable readings. A jugular vein catheter allows frequent blood sampling with minimal stress to the piglets. Techniques for jugular vein catheter implantation in older pigs have been described, but less information is available for suckling piglets. This report describes the procedure of catheter implantation into an external jugular vein for longer-term frequent blood sampling in 48 12-day (d)-old suckling German Landrace piglets with a mean BW of 3.4 ± 0.7 kg. Catheterisation was performed either under general anaesthesia by injection of azaperone and ketamine (a/k) or by inhalation of isoflurane (IsoF). To determine the optimal incision site in the sulcus jugularis, the centre between the caudal edge of the mandibula, cranial shoulder and sternum was identified. After a small incision of the skin, the jugular vein was bluntly dissected and a catheter was inserted. The tip of the catheter was placed near the beginning of the right atrium. After wound closure, the surgical area was secured by disinfection and bandages. The piglets were returned to their littermates in the farrowing pen immediately after full recovery from anaesthesia, which was 5–7 h in a/k and 0.75 h in IsoF anaesthetised piglets after the onset of the surgery, respectively. The catheter was flushed daily with 0.9% NaCl-0.1% sodium citrate solution. To demonstrate the longer-term benefits of the catheter, on d 4 after surgery, a series of frequent blood sampling were performed after an oral xylose bolus. In total, 10 samples of 0.5 mL were taken before and every 30 min after the oral xylose bolus for 5 h; the blood volume was replaced with 0.9% NaCl solution. On d 4 after surgery, 41 of 48 implanted catheters were considered fully functional (90% of desired samples collected), three as partially functional, and four as non-functional, whereas two catheters were non-functional already from d 1 after surgery. The catheterised animals remained clinically healthy but showed less daily BW gain from age d 12 (day of surgery) to d 15 than non-catheterised control animals (0.12 ± 0.01 vs 0.23 ± 0.01 kg; n = 46; P < 0.05). In conclusion, the catheter implanted into an external jugular vein in 12-d-old suckling piglets remaining with the sow was patent for 4 d after surgery and allowed frequent blood sampling with minimal stress for the piglets.