The Foley catheter is described in the emergency treatment of penetrating cardiac injuries, and its intra-operative use to control bleeding while definitive measures for intravascular embolization are being made. We present the first reported case of the use of a urinary catheter to control haemorrhage in an extremity stab injury to obtain haemodynamic stability while awaiting definitive surgic...

At one time, direct intravascular contrast angiography was the standard method for confirmatory diagnosis of venous or pulmonary arterial thromboembolism. Although sensitive and specific, conventional catheter-based contrast imaging is invasive and associated with a risk of phlebitis and thrombosis. These procedures require specialized training and experience in catheter manipulation, as well a...

ActiveVessel is a new multimedia workstation that enables the visualization, acquisition, and handling of different medical image modalities onand off-line for cardiology purposes. The workstation implements image decompression and browsing, video acquisition, reproduction, and storage for intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and angiogram (X-ray) analysis. A distinctive implementation feature is th...

A retrospective study was conducted, including 61 patients with long-term intravascular devices (IVDs) admitted to the Childrens Hospital Los Angeles with diverse underlying diseases, different types of catheters, and culture-proven catheter-related bloodstream infections (BSIs). Within these patients, 125 catheter-related BSIs occurred, and the incidence of monomicrobial and polymicrobial BSIs...

PURPOSE To determine and track the planar orientation of active interventional devices without using localizing RF microcoils. MATERIALS AND METHODS An image-based tracking method that determines a device's orientation using projection images was developed. An automated and a manual detection scheme were implemented. The method was demonstrated in an in vivo mesocaval puncture procedure in sw...

Intravascular catheters have become essential devices for the management of critically and chronically ill patients. However, their use is often associated with serious infectious complications, mostly catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI), resulting in significant morbidity, increased duration of hospitalization, and additional medical costs. The majority of CRBSIs are associated with...

1 Mermel LA, Allon M, Bouza E et al. Guidelines for the management of intravascular catheter-related infections: 2009 update by the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Clin Infect Dis 2009; 49:1– 45. doi:10.1086/599376 2 Tokars JI. Predictive value of blood cultures positive for coagulase negative staphylococci: implications for patient care and health care quality assurance. Clin Infect Di...

Candida spp. are important causes of nosocomial bloodstream infections. Around 80% of patients with candidemia have an indwelling central venous catheter (CVC). Determining whether the CVC is the source of candidemia has implications for patient management. We assessed whether the time to detection of Candida species in peripheral blood (time to positivity [TTP]) can serve as a marker for cathe...

Intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) is a novel method based on pulsatile ultrasonic pressure waves specifically aimed to modify circumferential and transmural calcium plaques. We report the successful application of shockwave IVL catheter® in child with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension due calcified thrombi both lower lobes. Compared conventional high-pressure balloon angioplasty, sign...

Intravascular elastography is a new technique to obtain the local mechanical properties of the vessel wall and its pathology using intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). Knowledge of these mechanical properties may be useful for guiding interventional procedures. An experimental set-up is described for assessment of the strain data of arteries. Using a 30-MHz IVUS catheter, radio frequency data are a...