Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Fletcher, Eugene C.
• Mihalick, Michael J.
• Siegel, Craig O.

Titel

Pulmonary artery rupture during introduction of the Swan-Ganz catheter: Mechanism and prevention of injury

Ist Teil von

• Journal of critical care, 1988-06, Vol.3 (2), p.116-121

Ort / Verlag

Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Inc

Erscheinungsjahr

1988

Quelle

Elsevier Journal Backfiles on ScienceDirect (DFG Nationallizenzen)

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Inadvertent perforation of the pulmonary artery during Swan-Ganz catheterization is an infrequent but not rare complication of that procedure. Although there is an unexplained predilection for this complication to occur in women, pulmonary hypertension does not appear to be a prerequisite. About 40% of the reported cases have been fatal. Surgical attempts at correction of the hemorrhage have not greatly decreased morbidity, although in selected cases, surgery may be lifesaving. In about 35% of the cases, the time of rupture of the artery can be pinpointed to occur immediately after catheter introduction. This can be accounted for by excess catheter present during insertion, with distal migration of the catheter following initial balloon deflation. Subsequent reinflation may then result in rupture of the vessel wall with leakage of blood into an adjacent bronchus, lung parenchyma, or into the pleural space. A method of avoiding this complication is proposed.