Redirection of central venous pressure catheters using a flow directed technique.
The malposition of the tip of a central venous catheter occurs in 5 to 30 per cent of the attempts. Repositioning of the catheter tip can be successfully and safely performed in 87.5 per cent of the patients using a Fogarty balloon catheter and flow directed techniques to float the CVP catheter to the ideal location in the superior vena cava. Since the first attempt is almost uniformly successful (in six of seven patients), the flow directed technique is both cost effective and clinically efficient.
D002408:Catheters, Indwelling; D002496:Central Venous Pressure; D006801:Humans; D014683:Vena Cava, Superior