When one port does not return blood: two case reports of rare causes for misplaced central venous catheters

We present two cases of misplaced central venous catheters having in common the absence of free blood return from one lumen immediately after placement. The former is a case of right hydrothorax associated with central venous catheterization with the catheter tip in intra-pleural location. In this c...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sandra Pereira, César Preto, Carla Pinho, Pedro Vasconcelos
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2016-01-01
Series:Brazilian Journal of Anesthesiology
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0104001414000256
Description
Summary:We present two cases of misplaced central venous catheters having in common the absence of free blood return from one lumen immediately after placement. The former is a case of right hydrothorax associated with central venous catheterization with the catheter tip in intra-pleural location. In this case the distal port was never patent. In the latter case there was an increased aspiration pressure through the middle port due to a catheter looping.The absence of free flow on aspiration from one lumen of a central catheter should not be undervalued. In these circumstances the catheter should not be used and needs to be removed. Resumo: Apresentamos dois casos de mau posicionamento de cateter venoso central. Têm em comum a ausência do retorno sanguíneo livre em um dos lúmens imediatamente após a colocação. O primeiro é um caso de hidrotórax direito associado ao cateterismo venoso central, com a ponta do cateter em localização intrapleural. Nesse caso, a porta distal nunca esteve patente. No segundo caso houve um aumento da pressão de aspiração através da porta medial por causa da formação de alça no cateter.A ausência de fluxo livre na aspiração de um lúmen do cateter central não deve ser subestimada. Nessas circunstâncias, o cateter não deve ser usado e deve ser removido. Keywords: Central venous catheter, Hydrothorax, Looping, Malposition, Palavras-chave: Cateter venoso central, Hidrotórax, Alça, Mau posicionamento
ISSN:0104-0014