Central venous catheter

Changed by Craig Hacking, 9 Dec 2016

Updates to Article Attributes

Body was changed:

Central venous catheters (CVC) or lines (CVL) refer to a wide range of central venous access devices but can broadly be divided into four categories. They may be inserted by physicians, surgeons or radiologists.

Classification

  • peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC)
  • non-tunnelled CVCs
    • e.g. used in ICU or ED for emergent or short-term (<7-10 days) access
    • e.g. Vascath used for haemodialysis, apheresis, stem cell collection, etc
  • tunnelled CVCs
    • e.g. Hickman catheters, Broviac line, Permcath
  • implantable ports
    • e.g. Port-a-Cath, Infus-a-Port
    • may be located in the chest or arm (brachial)
    • may be single or dual lumen

Site

Central venous catheters can be inserted into a variety of veins, most commonly including:

Placement

Policy varies by institution but tip placement for neck / thoracic / upper limb CVCs in the superior vena cava or at the cavo-atrial junction is generally acceptable. There is a limited differential of left paramediastinal catheter positions.

Complications  

  • -<li><a title="retained guidewire" href="/articles/retained-guidewire">retained guidewire</a></li>
  • -<li><a title="guidewire shearing and fragment embolisation" href="/articles/guidewire-shearing-and-fragment-embolisation">guidewire shearing and fragment embolisation</a></li>
  • +<li><a href="/articles/retained-guidewire">retained guidewire</a></li>
  • +<li><a href="/articles/guidewire-shearing-and-fragment-embolisation">guidewire shearing and fragment embolisation</a></li>
Images Changes:

Image 14 X-ray (Frontal) ( create )

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