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Case Reports
. 2011 Jan;16(1):13-5.
doi: 10.1093/pch/16.1.13.

Liver fluid collection in neonates and its association with the use of a specific umbilical vein catheter: Report of five cases

Vikas Mahajan  1 , Asad Rahman, Amjad Tarawneh, Guilherme Mendes Sant'anna
Affiliations
Case Reports

Liver fluid collection in neonates and its association with the use of a specific umbilical vein catheter: Report of five cases

Vikas Mahajan et al. Paediatr Child Health. 2011 Jan.

Abstract
in English, French

In newborns, the presence of liver fluid collection is a rare event. The reported cases are isolated or described over long periods. Within four months, five neonates were diagnosed with liver fluid collection from safety occurrence reports. Clinical, laboratory and radiological data were extracted from medical records. The definite diagnosis was made by ultrasound. Four of the patients were preterm, male and had very low birth weights. The osmolality of the infused solution was within the acceptable range. Investigations revealed that the use of a new brand of umbilical vein catheter introduced in the neonatal intensive care unit, one month before the first case, was associated with this cluster. Low positioning of the umbilical vein catheter tip appeared to be a second contributory factor. Neonatal practitioners may benefit from the present report when facing the occurrence of similar lesions.

Il est rare d’observer une accumulation de liquide dans le foie chez les nouveau-nés. Les cas déclarés sont isolés ou décrits sur une période prolongée. En quatre mois, cinq nouveau-nés ont reçu des diagnostics d’accumulation de liquide dans le foie tirés de rapports d’incidence de sécurité. Les chercheurs ont extrait les données cliniques, radiologiques et de laboratoire des dossiers médicaux. Le diagnostic définitif a été posé par échographie. Quatre des patients étaient prématurés, de sexe masculin et avaient un très petit poids de naissance. L’osmolalité de la solution infusée se situait dans la plage acceptable. Les examens ont révélé que l’utilisation d’une nouvelle marque de cathéter veineux ombilical adoptée à l’unité de soins intensifs néonatals, un mois avant le premier cas, s’associait à ce groupe d’observation. La position basse du bout du cathéter veineux ombilical semblait constituer un deuxième facteur contributif. Les praticiens néonatals pourraient tirer profit du présent rapport lorsqu’ils observent l’occurrence de lésions similaires.

Keywords: Liver abscess; Liver infiltration; Osmolality; Umbilical vein catheter.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A Abdominal radiograph showing an umbilical vein catheter tip over the liver shadow and radiolucency at the tip of the umbilical vein catheter (arrow). B Ultrasonography of the liver showing a large, complex collection of fluid in the right lobe, measuring 2.2 cm × 2.1 cm × 1.6 cm. The rest of the liver is unremarkable
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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