Radiological evaluation and management of malfunctioning central venous catheters.

Central venous catheters provide an important means of long-term vascular access in a variety of clinical situations. Catheter placement and evaluation is now forming an increasing part of the workload of interventional radiologists. This review presents an overview of malfunctioning central venous catheters. We outline the causes of catheter related problems and discuss the treatment options. We include examples of catheter malfunction resulting from malposition, displacement, kinking and occlusion.