title: Pulmonary embolism due to catheter fracture from a tunneled dialysis catheter.
abstract: The patient presented to the emergency room with hemoptysis and pleuritic chest pain. A chest x-ray revealed a broken dialysis catheter tip lodged in the pulmonary artery. The fractured catheter tip was removed via the femoral vein using a loop snare. As has been described for central lines and venous ports, a fractured catheter tip from a hemodialysis catheter may also lead to pulmonary embolism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA. vishalsagar@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Vishal
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sagar
authors.forename: Eleanor
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lederer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002408:Catheters, Indwelling / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004868:Equipment Failure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000209:etiology*; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation