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Ventricular tachycardia secondary to Port-a-Cath fracture and embolization
Mark A Denny1, Leonard R Frank
1Madigan-University of Washington Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency, Madigan Army Medical Center, Fort Lewis, Washington, USA.
The Journal of Emergency Medicine
|January 30, 2003
Abstract:
Distal embolization of a fractured indwelling venous access catheter is a known, but rare, complication of these common devices. We report a case of possibly life-threatening tachydysrhythmia caused by an embolized portion of catheter from a totally implanted venous access catheter. Our discussion focuses on review of the literature on the typical presentation and management of this entity, as well as a brief discussion on prevention and risk factors for developing this complication.