CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Ibnosina Journal of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences 2014; 06(06): 318-322
DOI: 10.4103/1947-489X.210397
Caes Report

Pneumomediastinitis following right subclavian vein central line insertion

Wael Sadaqa
Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Najah National University and Hospital, Nablus, Palestine
› Author Affiliations

Background: Complications related to central venous catheters in the intensive care unit can be fatal. Case Report: An 18 years old lady with acute myeloid leukemia was admitted to An-Najah National University Hospital for a second course chemotherapy. On the day of admission, central line insertion was planned for starting the chemotherapy. The central line was inserted in right subclavian vein. One hour after the insertion, the patient complained of mild chest pain, difficulty breathing, and mild tachypnea. Anteroposterior chest radiography did not reveal neumothorax, infiltration, consolidation, or collapse. The chest computed tomography scan (CT) detected anterior and superior pneumomediastinum. Minimal pleural effusion was also detected in the right lung, especially in the dependent area. The tip of the catheter was seen lying free in the left side of the mediastinum indicative of perforation with mild air collection suggestive of pneumomediastinum. The central venous line was removed after proving its malpositioning. The patient recovered within two days with conservative treatment and a new central venous line was inserted with guidance of ultrasound. Chemotherapy was then resumed. Conclusions: This case highlights the importance of inserting the central line under the guidance of ultrasound and the superiority of CT scan over the chest x-ray accuracy in diagnosing the chest complications.



Publication History

Received: 25 February 2014

Accepted: 07 May 2014

Article published online:
07 July 2022

© 2014. The Libyan Authority of Scientific Research and Technologyand the Libyan Biotechnology Research Center. All rights reserved. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License,permitting copying and reproductionso long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, oradapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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