Thrombosis after establishing internal jugular vein channel in one burn patient / 中华烧伤杂志

On September 7th, 2017, one female patient, aged 48 years with deep partial-thickness flame burn on face, upper limbs, trunk, and lower limbs of 40% total body surface area was admitted to the First People′s Hospital of Foshan City. After admission, active fluid replacement, anti-infection, nutritional support, and other treatments were performed. After debridement and skin grafting for 3 times and blood transfusion for 2 times, the patient recovered well. On the 20th day post admission, sudden heartbeat and respiratory arrest happened, and the patient died after ineffective rescue. Autopsy showed that thrombus formed in right internal jugular vein and deep veins of lower extremities, and vascular lumina of the bilateral pulmonary artery. The direct cause of death was acute pulmonary thromboembolism, but whether the embolus originated from deep vein of lower extremity or right internal jugular vein was not clear. This case suggests that clinician should not only pay attention to the prevention of deep venous thrombosis of lower extremities of burn patients, but also the possibility of internal jugular vein thrombosis, especially for patients with internal jugular vein access.

Use of optimized ultrasound axis along with marked introducer needle to prevent mechanical complications of internal jugular vein catheterization.

Internal jugular vein (IJV) catheterization is a routine technique in the intensive care unit. Ultrasound (US) guided central venous catheter (CVC) insertion is now the recommended standard. However, mechanical complications still occur due to non‑visualization of the introducer needle tip during US guidance. This may result in arterial or posterior venous wall puncture or pneumothorax. We describe a new technique of (IJV) catheterization using US, initially the depth of the IJV from the skin is measured in short‑axis and then using real time US long‑axis view guidance a marked introducer needle is advanced towards the IJV to the defined depth measured earlier in the short axis and the IJV is identified, assessed and cannulated for the CVC insertion. Our technique is simple and may reduce mechanical complications of US guided CVC insertion.