Cardiac tamponade from a fine silastic central venous catheter in a premature infant

Abstract

A 790 g infant developed cardiac tamponade 17 h after starting parenteral nutrition through a fine silastic catheter, the tip of which was accidentally positioned against the wall of the right atrium. Cold light examination suggested the diagnosis and pericardial aspiration of clear fluid with a high glucose content restored the circulation.

Pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade associated with central venous catheters in children: an uncommon but serious and treatable condition

“…All catheters in this small series were 4F in diameter and of polyurethane composition except for the one 7F dialysis catheter. There have been previous investigators from small series and case reports that have suggested that silastic catheters may provide an increased risk for development of PCE; however, this has neither been definitively proven nor supported by our current data [14][15][16]. Thus, based on the results of this study in combination with previous findings, no definitive conclusions regarding the influence of CVC size or material on the development of PCE can be drawn.…”

Massive pleural effusion on the contralateral side of a venous peripherally inserted central catheter

“…PICCs can also cause perforation of the vessel walls, leading to extravasation of the fluid into pleural and pericardial cavities. These effusions may be life‐threatening, unless timely diagnosis and adequate interventions are performed . Ultrasonography is useful for diagnosis of pleural and pericardial effusions when infants treated with PICC suffer from acute respiratory distress …”

High pressure versus standard port system: Comparison of implantation and complications

“…Furthermore, this study shows that the 8‐French PowerPort catheter is significantly less susceptible to catheter tip migration even if the observed tip migration with a standard 6‐French Port catheter was clinically irrelevant. Nevertheless, an optimal tip position at the right atrial–superior vena cava junction seems to be the optimal tip position to minimize catheter‐related complications . The lower catheter tip migration could be explained by the greater stiffness of the 8‐F catheter compared with the 6‐F.…”