[Cardiac tamponade, a usually fatal complication of central venous catheterisation (author's transl)].

Cardiac tamponade is a complication of central venous catheterisation. It is not very rare and may, according to the literature, be fatal in 75%. The diagnosis is established by loss of blood pressure, extreme tachycardia, congestive heart failure, and markedly increased central venous pressure accompanied by a venous catheter in situ. Two out of four patients with cardiac tamponade survived this complication.