Schmiege Lorenz M, Wolf Dwayne A
Department of Pathology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.
Semin Dial. 2006 Sep-Oct;19(5):434-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1525-139X.2006.00200.x.
A 27-year-old Hispanic man with a history of hypertension and end-stage renal disease for 4 years became unresponsive, apneic, and pulseless during hemodialysis. During his 4 year period on dialysis, vascular access had become increasingly difficult and ultimately a transhepatic catheter had been placed 9 months prior to this event. Resuscitation was unsuccessful. At autopsy, death was determined to be due to cardiac tamponade secondary to perforation of the right atrium by the transhepatic catheter. Cardiac tamponade is a rare cause of sudden death during hemodialysis with a long-standing catheter.
