We evaluated 160 electrocardiograms taken after placement of central venous catheters (CVC) to determine their locations. Usable recordings were obtained in 154 patients. Subsequent radiographs revealed 30 misplaced catheters. Twenty-five of those were detected by CVC electrocardiograms. There were five false positive and five false negative traces. The sensitivity of CVC electrocardiography was 96%, the specificity 83.3%, and the total predictive power 93.5%. Electrocardiograms obtained from guide-wires were of significantly better quality than those from 0.9% NaCl filled catheters. The technique is accurate, safe and easy to learn. It may reduce the need for routine radiographic control to less than 10% of patients.
A case translunate, transmetacarpal, scapho-radial fracture with perilunate dislocation occurred as a young man drove his motorcycle into the side of a car. Closed reduction was performed initially. Open reduction was performed with a screw in the lunate. Eighteen months later the screw was removed and after two and a half years x-rays revealed no signs of avascular necrosis or arthrosis. The patient fully recovered. This case stresses the necessity of open reduction in cases of complicated carpal fracture dislocations.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.