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
. 2021 Apr 4;13(4):e14287.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.14287.

Subclavian Artery Injury Following Central Venous Catheter Placement

Morris Sasson  1 , Lisandro Montorfano  2 , Stephen J Bordes  3 , Mauricio Sarmiento Cobos  2 , Mark Grove  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Subclavian Artery Injury Following Central Venous Catheter Placement

Morris Sasson et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Mechanical complications following central venous catheterization are not uncommon. We discuss a case of iatrogenic intra-arterial central venous catheter placement requiring neck exploration in a 93-year-old woman. The catheter was inadvertently passed through the jugular vein and into the right subclavian artery by a junior surgical resident. Adequate technique and supervision, ultrasound guidance, and immediate diagnostic workup in the event of suspected arterial injury are factors necessary for physicians to minimize complications and provide safe medical treatment.

Keywords: catheter-related complications; central venous catheter; jugular vein; subclavian artery; vascular surgery.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Upright chest X-ray showing the central venous catheter (arrow).
L: left.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Right neck exploration showing the central venous catheter in place.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Catheter passing through the internal jugular vein (blue vessel loops) and entering the superior aspect of the right subclavian artery.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Intravascular-catheter-related infections. Raad I. Lancet. 1998;351:0. - PubMed
    1. Consequences of intravascular catheter sepsis. Arnow PM, Quimosing EM, Beach M. Clin Infect Dis. 1993;16:778–784. - PubMed
    1. Nosocomial bloodstream infection in critically ill patients. Excess length of stay, extra costs, and attributable mortality. Pittet D, Tarara D, Wenzel RP. JAMA. 1994;271:1598–1601. - PubMed
    1. Mechanical complications of central venous catheterisation in trauma patients. Odendaal J, Kong VY, Sartorius B, Liu TY, Liu YY, Clarke DL. Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 2017;99:390–393. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Complications of femoral and subclavian venous catheterization in critically ill patients: a randomized controlled trial. Merrer J, De Jonghe B, Golliot F, et al. JAMA. 2001;286:700–707. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources