Bleeding of the Superior Vena Cava Due to an Iatrogenic Injury to It during the Ultrasound-Guided Central Venous Cannulation

Medicina (Kaunas). 2022 Feb 10;58(2):266. doi: 10.3390/medicina58020266.

Abstract

Central venous cannulation (CVC) is a procedure that is frequently performed to facilitate resuscitation, nutritional support and long-term vascular access. It may often cause mechanical complications during placement of a cannula in association with the anatomical relationship with central veins. A 68-year-old man visited our medical institution with a chief complaint of foreign-body-induced esophageal perforation. This patient presented with bleeding of the superior vena cava due to an iatrogenic injury to it during the CVC in the right internal jugular vein. Our case indicates that it would be mandatory to insert a cannula at an optimal depth considering the anatomical relationship between the central veins during the CVC.

Keywords: catheterization; central venous; esophageal perforation; medical errors; superior; ultrasonography; vena cava.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Catheterization, Central Venous* / adverse effects
  • Catheterization, Central Venous* / methods
  • Humans
  • Iatrogenic Disease
  • Jugular Veins / diagnostic imaging
  • Male
  • Ultrasonography, Interventional
  • Vena Cava, Superior* / diagnostic imaging