Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
2
pubmed:dateCreated
1990-7-13
pubmed:abstractText
The risk of complication during the insertion or exchange of central venous catheters has been well documented. The majority of complications involve mechanical problems associated with insertion. Although cardiac arrhythmia has been acknowledged as a possible complication, its incidence has never been quantified. We performed cardiac monitoring on patients during 51 central venous catheter insertions or exchanges to determine the incidence of cardiac arrhythmias during guidewire insertion. Forty-one percent of procedures resulted in atrial arrhythmias and 25% produced some degree of ventricular ectopy, 30% of these were ventricular couplets or greater. Ventricular ectopy was significantly more common in shorter patients (160 +/- 8 vs 168 +/- 11 cm, p less than 0.05) and when the catheter was inserted from the right subclavian position (43% ventricular ectopy vs 10% at the other sites). Other variables such as age, cardiac history, serum potassium, type of procedure, and catheter brand were not significant. It is our conclusion that over-insertion of the wire causes this cardiac stimulation. Despite the absence of morbidity or mortality in this study, this incidence of ventricular ectopy indicates that there is a distinct possibility of a malignant arrhythmia being precipitated by a guidewire. Some modification of the current protocol for these procedures seems indicated.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:issn
0148-6071
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
14
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
152-5
pubmed:dateRevised
2007-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:articleTitle
Incidence of arrhythmia with central venous catheter insertion and exchange.
pubmed:affiliation
New England Deaconess Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article