Editorial Type:
Article Category: Review Article
 | 
Online Publication Date: 31 Oct 2022

Transient Complete Heart Block during Femoral Central Venous Catheter Placement in a Pediatric Patient: A Case Description and Literature Review

RN CRNP-AC, FCCM,
MD,
MD,
MD, and
MD
Page Range: 19 – 22
DOI: 10.2309/JAVA-D-22-00020
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Highlights

  • Femoral central venous catheter placement is a common procedure performed in the pediatric intensive care unit.

  • Complete heart block is a rare but possible complication during pediatric central venous access procedures.

  • Knowledge of this complication is vital to safely performing this procedure well.

Abstract

Femoral central venous catheter (CVC) placement is a common procedure performed in the pediatric intensive care unit. Femoral CVCs have a relatively low intraprocedural complication rate compared with other access sites. We describe a case of guidewire-induced transient complete heart block during femoral CVC insertion. This complication is rare in the pediatric population. The incidence of its occurrence and guidance to prevent this complication are discussed.

Keywords: intensive care; nursing; techniques and procedures; oncology access; nutrition
Copyright: Copyright © 2022 Association for Vascular Access. All rights reserved.
Figure 1.
Figure 1.

Initial multifocal premature ventricular contractions leading into complete heart block.

Figure 2.
Figure 2.

Sustained complete heart block with ventricular rate of 57 beats per minute.

Contributor Notes

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to weberm@chop.edu
Received: 09 Jul 2022
Accepted: 10 Aug 2022
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