Presentation
Post cardiac surgery
Patient Data
Intra-aortic balloon pump (partially inflated) in situ along with the usual post cardiac surgery lines (ETT, SGC, chest drain).
The inflated intra-aortic ballon can be seen as an elongated radiolucency (red dotted line) with a radio-opaque marker at the tip (red arrow). MRA of another patient (1) demonstrates the full extent to the device.
As is the case with ICU patients, numerous other lines are visible:
- endotracheal tube (blue)
- Swan-Ganz catheter (yellow - curled in the center of the film)
- ECG lead (yellow - right upper quadrant)
- temporary pacing leads (green, difficult to see)
- mediastinal / chest drain (brown)
1. Image courtesy of DSCP. Original file: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dscp_Iab.JPG. Public Domain.
Case Discussion
When interpreting ICU chest x-rays careful attention must be paid to the lines and catheters present. Familiarity with these lines is essential if appropriate position it so be confirmed, especially as the requests seldom list the lines present.
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