1 Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
It has been common practice to leave an indwelling venous catheter with its tip in the inferior vena cava (IVC) following cardiac catheterization in ill infants who are to subsequently undergo corrective or palliative surgery. A polyvinyl chloride catheter may be conveniently inserted into the same vein employed for the diagnostic catheterization in order to monitor central venous pressures and deliver intravenous fluids.
Two instances of thrombosis of the IVC which occurred following the use of indwelling femoral venous catheters, placed after cardiac catheterization, are reported. Not only is this complication particularly serious from the standpoint of potential thromboembolism, but it also eliminates the use of the IVC approach in a group of patients who require repeated cardiac catheterizations.