Lost Seldinger guidewire during central venous catheterization

Intravenous literature: Song, Y., Messerlian, A.K. and Matevosian, R. (2012) A potentially hazardous complication during central venous catheterization: lost guidewire retained in the patient. Journal of Clinical Anesthesia. Apr 9. [Epub ahead of print].

Abstract:

Guidewires are routinely used in the Seldinger technique during central venous catheter placement. A case in which a guidewire was unsuspectingly released and retained in a patient during the catheterization of the internal jugular vein is presented. Physicians from multiple services subsequently failed to detect the retained guidewire on several chest radiographs; however, the guidewire was incidentally discovered after a computed tomographic scan was obtained.

Other stories