Central venous catheter placement by an interventional radiology unit: an Australian experience.

The aim of this retrospective study was to analyse the outcomes of central venous catheter (CVC) placement carried out by an interventional radiology unit. A review of our hospital records identified 331 consecutive patients who underwent insertion of a tunnelled or non-tunnelled CVC between January 2000 and December 2004. Key outcome measures included the technical success rate of CVC insertion and the percentage of immediate (<24 h), early (24 h-30 days) and late (>30 days) complications. A total of 462 CVCs were placed under radiological guidance, with an overall success rate of 98.9%. Immediate complications included one pneumothorax, which was diagnosed 7 days after subclavian CVC insertion, and eight episodes of significant haematoma or bleeding within 24 h of CVC insertion. No cases were complicated by arterial puncture or air embolus. Catheter-related sepsis occurred in 2% of non-tunnelled CVC and 8.9% of tunnelled CVC. The overall incidence of catheter-related sepsis was 0.17 per 100 catheter days. As the demand for chemotherapy and haemodialysis grows with our ageing population, interventional radiology suites are well placed to provide a safe and reliable service for the placement of central venous access devices.

Endovascular treatment of arterial mesenteric ischaemia: a retrospective review.

Mesenteric ischaemia is a condition that has traditionally been managed surgically. It poses a challenging diagnostic and therapeutic problem, particularly in the acute setting. We review a small series of eight patients managed with endovascular techniques for either acute or chronic mesenteric ischaemia at The Royal Melbourne Hospital, from 1997 to 2002. We describe our results and relate these to the recent published literature regarding endovascular and surgical management of mesenteric ischaemia. Our experience confirms the valuable contribution of angioplasty and stenting in chronic mesenteric ischaemia, which compares favourably with surgery with regards to complication rates and mortality. We suggest the need for further studies to compare the long-term efficacy of endovascular techniques compared with surgery in the management of chronic mesenteric ischaemia. Furthermore, we demonstrate a role for endovascular management in acute mesenteric ischaemia, in the appropriate clinical setting.

Central venous catheter placement.

Central venous access has become a vital element of medical care. Fraught with significant complications, traditional surgical approaches have yielded image-guided techniques. This article reviews clinical aspects and devices used, and compares surgical and interventional radiological approaches. It also looks at complications and their management, and aspects of patient care.

Stenting in malignant and benign vena caval obstruction.

Expandable metallic stents have been used with considerable success for the palliation of malignant vena caval obstruction. The role of stenting in vena caval obstruction of benign aetiology is less well defined. A review of 11 patients stented for vena caval obstruction and a review of recent series in the literature is presented. Of the 11 patients, seven patients had involvement of the superior vena cava (SVC), and four patients had inferior vena caval (IVC) obstruction. Seven cases had malignant vena caval obstruction, with a benign aetiology (SVC n = 3; IVC n = 1) in the other four cases. All seven patients treated with SVC stents experienced complete resolution or significant improvement in symptoms with no recurrence over the duration of available follow-up, over an average of 4.3 months (range: 1 week-12 months). Only one of four IVC lesions stented resulted in a good clinical response. All four patients with vena caval obstruction of benign aetiology had a good outcome. One patient experienced a small pulmonary embolus following SVC stent insertion without further sequelae. No other serious complications were encountered. Stenting can provide prompt relief of vena caval obstruction with low morbidity, and high patency rates in both benign and malignant vena caval lesions.