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Central venous access: accidental arterial puncture in a patient with right-sided aortic arch
M Ricci1, A O Puente, F Gusmano
1Department of Surgery, Cabrini Medical Center/The Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10003, USA.
Objective:
To describe an unusual case of accidental insertion of a central line into an anomalous right-sided aortic arch.
Design:
Case report, clinical.
Settings:
Community hospital, university-affiliated.
Conclusions:
Intraoperative radioscopy, chest radiographs, and pressure transducer monitoring usually allow for the prompt recognition of the accidental insertion of venous catheters into the arterial system. However, in the presence of a right-sided aortic arch, a central line could be erroneously inserted into the arterial system and the radiologic findings can give the false impression of a correct placement in the superior vena cava.