Presentation
Difficult central line placement.
Patient Data
Age: 25 years
Gender: Male
From the case:
Aortic placement of central line
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Left subclavian catheter tip projects over the expected location of the aorta. No pneumothorax, lungs clear.
Case Discussion
Central lines that project to the left of the spine can be either extra- or intravascular. If intravascular, the line can be either venous (left superior vena cava or hemi-azygos) or arterial (aorta). A blood gas may be helpful to differentiate venous from arterial placement. In this case, the line was felt to be in the aorta and was removed without incident.
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