Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2010 Apr;14(2):95-6.
doi: 10.4103/0972-5229.68225.

Finding on a chest radiograph: A dangerous complication of subclavian vein cannulation

Nataraj Madagondapalli Srinivasan  1 , Akshay Kumar
Affiliations
Case Reports

Finding on a chest radiograph: A dangerous complication of subclavian vein cannulation

Nataraj Madagondapalli Srinivasan et al. Indian J Crit Care Med. 2010 Apr.

Abstract

Cannulation of the subclavian vein has its inherent risks. Post procedure chest radiograph is one of the investigations done to rule out immediate complications. Unless the clinician is aware as to what to look for in the radiograph, some of the dangerous complications can be overlooked. Accidental subclavian artery cannulation is identifi ed immediately by color and jet of the blood. Also the position of the catheter tip has to be confi rmed by obtaining the arterial pressure tracing using a pressure transducer. Non availability of Doppler ultrasound and pressure transducer are limiting factors for immediate confi rmation of proper catheter placement. Also, in patients with severe hypotension and reduced oxygen content of blood, accidental arterial puncture may not show the characteristic bright red pulsatile back fl ow of arterial blood. In these situations radiography can be used as a diagnostic tool to rule out subclavian artery cannulation.

Keywords: Central venous catheters; complication of subclavian vein cannulation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Radiograph of chest showing the tip of the catheter on the left side of the chest
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Wilson JN, Grow JB, Demong CV, Prevedel AE, Owens JC. Central venous pressure in optimal blood volume maintenance. Arch Surg. 1962;85:563–78. - PubMed
    1. Borja AR. Current status of infraclavicular subclavian vein catheterization: review of English literature. Ann Thorac Surg. 1972;13:615–24. - PubMed
    1. Dedhia HV, Schiebel F. What is wrong with this chest roentgenogram? Right subclavian artery cannulation. Chest. 1987;92:921–2. - PubMed
    1. Mansfield PF, Hohn DC, Fornage BD, Gregurich MA, Ota DM. Complications and failures of subclavian-vein cannulation. N Engl J Med. 1994;331:1735–8. - PubMed
    1. Civetta JM. Fullerton CA: Society of Critical Care Medicine. In: Shoemaker WC, Thompson WL, editors. Critical care state of the art, vol 1, chapter 13. Fullerton CA: Society of Critical Care Medicine. 1980. pp. 1–47.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources