Pulmonary embolus as a complication of femoral venous catheter removal

The case of a 31 year old woman who developed asymptomatic pulmonary emboli after removal of a femoral venous catheter is reported. A deep venous thrombus had previously been shown to be associated with the catheter. Therefore it is argued that care should be taken when removing femoral lines especially in patients at high risk of thrombosis and that femoral venous duplex scan may be warranted prior to line removal in these high risk patients.