Accidental malpositioning of 9Fr central venous catheter in the right subclavian vein via right internal jugular vein: A case report

Yang, Soo Hyun; Ko, Justin Sangwook; Kim, Gaab Soo; Gwak, Mi Sook

Case Report

General Article

Anesthesia and Pain Medicine 2010;5(3):264-266.
Published online July 31, 2010.

Accidental malpositioning of 9Fr central venous catheter in the right subclavian vein via right internal jugular vein: A case report

Soo Hyun Yang, Justin Sangwook Ko, Gaab Soo Kim, Mi Sook Gwak

Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. jsko@skku.edu

Abstract

Central venous catheters can provide important hemodynamic information in patients with cardiopulmonary disease and access for medicine, fluid, and blood administration during surgery. The placement of central venous catheters is associated with a complication rate of 0.4% to 20%, including pneumothorax, arterial puncture, infection and cardiac tamponade. In addition, malposition of central venous catheter is another complication of central venous catheterization. We report a case of malpositioning of central venous catheter which is located in the right subclavian vein via internal jugular vein in a liver transplant recipient. The malpositioning was confirmed by portable X-ray after several field attempts to advance Swan-Ganz catheter and achieve normal sequences of pressure waves.

Key Words: Central venous catheter, Malposition, Subclavian vein