Central venous catheters are essential in the medical management of critically ill pediatric patients. Medical practitioners should be aware of the potential for misplacement of these devices as such complications may result in serious injury and possible death. Catheter malpositioning is not limited to any particular site and may have far-reaching consequences that affect a single or multiple organ systems. We present two cases where central venous catheter positioning led to complications that resulted in intracranial pathology which was fatal in one case.

Keywords:
Central venous catheter, Percutaneous central venous line, Complications of central line placement, Extravasation injury, Subdural hematoma, Epidural hematoma
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© 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel
2004
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