contrast to previous publications, which identified arterial events with higher rates than venous events. This discrepancy may indicate that the high number of venous TEEs observed by Sridhar and colleagues may have been largely driven by cases of phlebitis or thrombophlebitis. Unfortunately, separate numbers for these types of events have not been provided by the authors. Pooling events such a...

INTRODUCTION The importance of accidental catheter removal (ACR) lies in the complications caused by the removal itself and by catheter reinsertion. To the best of our knowledge, no studies have analyzed accidental removal of various types of catheters in the intensive care unit (ICU). The objective of the present study was to analyze the incidence of ACR for all types of catheters in the ICU. ...

Received 8/14/2006; revised 9/5/2006; accepted 9/6/2006. For correspondence or reprints contact: Wan-Yu Lin, M.D., Department of Nuclear Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, 160 Section 3, Taichung Harbor Road, Section 3, Taichung 407, Taiwan. Tel: (886)4-23741349, Fax: (886)423741348, E-mail: [email protected] We presented a 45-year-old woman who underwent FDG-PET scans due to ...

Antisepsis of the skin of children to whom a peripheral venous catheter (PVC) is to be attached is an important factor in reducing catheter related infections. No data are available on the effectiveness of sodium hypochlorite. Explorative study of children and new-born babies treated in hospital to ascertain bacterial contamination levels of PVC tips as surrogate infection indicator. In a sampl...

Nocardia farcinica is an emerging pathogen in immunocompromised hosts. Even though several species of Nocardia have been reported as causative pathogens of catheter-related blood stream infections (CRBSI), CRBSI caused by N. farcinica has not been reported. A 70-yr-old man with a tunneled central venous catheter (CVC) for home parenteral nutrition was admitted with fever for two days. Norcardia...

Peripheral septic thrombophlebitis is an uncommon but potentially lethal condition fraught with systemic complications. Optimal treatment calls for surgical excision of the inflamed venous segment, followed by antimicrobial therapy. However, extended skin incision and meticulous flap elevation conventional venectomy leaves substantial residual scarring. Herein, we detail a minimal performed per...

We present a case of cardiac tamponade associated with placement of a central venous catheter (CVC) via a peripheral vein in a 14-year-old girl with idiopathic scoliosis undergoing corrective surgery. A number of complications have been described in association with CVC misplacement. Sporadic cases of cardiac tamponade from this have been reported, but the actual incidence is unknown. Death fro...