Chuang Kuan-Chih, Lan Albert Kok-Mao, Luk Hsiang Ning, Wang Chi-Shien, Huang Chia-Jung, Cheng Kok-Wei, Lin Kun-Chen, Jawan Bruno
Department of Anesthesiology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical Center, 833 Kaohsiung, Taiwan, ROC.
J Clin Anesth. 2005 Mar;17(2):124-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinane.2004.05.008.
During urgent cardiopulmonary bypass for acute myocardial infarction, a pulmonary artery (PA) catheter was inserted in an 81-year-old male patient for monitoring of cardiopulmonary function. The presence of the PA catheter in the right pericardium was noted by the cardiothoracic surgeon during surgery. In retrospect, the malposition of the catheter in the pericardium could be clearly seen in the routine intraoperative transesophageal echocardiogram. The presence of a PA pressure waveform and the ability to measure cardiac output and mixed venous oxygen saturation from the PA catheter does not exclude the possibility that it could still be perforating the right ventricle.
