Swan song for the Swan-Ganz catheter?

Multiple knotting of a swan-ganz catheter.

Complications derived from pulmonary artery catheter placement are about 3%-17%,1 from the most frequent and mild (carotid puncture, extrasystoles, etc) to the most severe (pulmonary artery rupture, pulmonary infarction, ventricular fibrillation, atrioventricular block, etc), and rare ones, such as intravascular catheter knotting, located preferentially in the right atrium (RA) or right ventric...

A Noninvasive Alternative to Swan-Ganz Catheter

Background—Although several studies have demonstrated a good correlation between Doppler echocardiographic and invasive measurements of single hemodynamic variables, the accuracy of echocardiography in providing a comprehensive assessment in individual patients has not been validated. The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy and clinical applicability of Doppler echocardiography in dete...

Removal of a knotted Swan-Ganz catheter.

Entrapment of a Swan-Ganz catheter.

Failure to withdraw a catheter is related primarily to catheter entrapment or knotting. Placement of a Swan-Ganz catheter is associated with various complications, one of which is entrapment. Entrapment of a Swan-Ganz catheter in the heart, vena cava, or pulmonary artery is a very rare and serious complication that may lead to life-threatening complications if not treated appropriately. Most re...

Echocardiography as a noninvasive Swan-Ganz catheter.

Diwan and co-investigators report in this issue of Circulation that the interval between onset of mitral E and annular early diastolic velocity (Ea) by tissue Doppler, TE Ea, can be used to estimate left ventricular (LV) filling pressure in patients with mitral valve disease.1 Garcia and colleagues were the first to report that the onset of Ea occurred 7.5 3.5 ms after peak mitral inflow veloci...