Wedged Swan-Ganz catheter causing ventilation-perfusion mismatch. Case report and review of the literature.
A ventilation-perfusion (V/Q) lung scan in a postoperative patient with a Swan-Ganz catheter showed an area of mismatch suggesting pulmonary embolism. Radiographs, as well as failure to get a venous return from the catheter suggested wedging. A pulmonary angiogram, performed after the Swan-Ganz catheter was pulled back, was essentially normal. An autopsy performed within 24 hours of the lung scan did not reveal pulmonary emboli. Wedged Swan-Ganz catheter was probably responsible for the V/Q mismatch.
D002404:Catheterization / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007049:Iatrogenic Disease; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011669:Pulmonary Wedge Pressure; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D014692:Ventilation-Perfusion Ratio