Monitoring complication due to a pulsatile femoral vein from tricuspid regurgitation.

This clinical report illustrates a monitoring complication due to a pulsatile femoral vein from tricuspid regurgitation. In this case, the femoral vein of a patient was inadvertently cannulated and exhibited a pulsatile tracing which was mistaken for an arterial pressure tracing. This led to the initial inappropriate use of vasopressors which actually augmented the pulsatility and delayed detection of the error. Although this may be a rare occurrence, the clinician should be aware of its possibility when using invasive monitoring in a patient with tricuspid regurgitation.