Open AccessRole of chest X-ray in citing central venous catheter tip: A few case reports with a brief review of the literature
Author(s) -
A Venugopal,
Rachel Cherian Koshy,
Sumod Mathew Koshy
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of anaesthesiology-clinical pharmacology/journal of anaesthesiology clinical pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.466
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 2231-2730
pISSN - 0970-9185
DOI - 10.4103/0970-9185.117114
Subject(s) - medicine , tamponade , central venous catheter , pneumothorax , catheter , cardiac tamponade , superior vena cava , right atrium , surgery , perforation , left atrium , pericardiocentesis , pericardial effusion , radiology , cardiology , punching , materials science , metallurgy , atrial fibrillation
Central venous catheter (CVC) insertions are increasingly performed in surgical patients and intensive therapy. A simple and invasive procedure performed under strict sterile precautions with complications ranging from arrhythmias; infections; and life-threatening complications such as pericardial tamponade, cardiac perforation and even death. A post-procedure chest X-ray (CXR), though does not accurately assess the tip of the catheter in relation to the superior vena cava (SVC) and right atrium (RA), can detect malpositions, safety of catheter tip, pneumothorax and kinking. We would like to share some of the malpositions we encountered in our centre, their management and a brief review of the literature on optimal catheter tip location.