Anesthetic Considerations for Cardiac Tamponade after Internal Jugular Central Line Placement during Trauma Resuscitation: A Case Report

Numerous complications are associated with central venous catheters. Among them, cardiac tamponade is a rare but well-documented catastrophic complication.A 22-year-old healthy male presented with Code 1 trauma resulting from gunshot wounds in the abdomen. Upon examination, he was found to have a large pericardial fluid collection, a large right supraclavicular hematoma, and significant amount of bilateral pleural effusions secondary to extraluminal placement of the right internal jugular central line during resuscitation. After repairing the internal jugular injury and draining the pericardial fluid, the patient was transferred from the intensive care unit to the regular hospital floor. However, 15 days later, imaging revealed re-accumulation of a large pericardial effusion, which was eventually treated with a pericardial window operation. This case report explores potential complications that could arise from central line placement and the anesthetic considerations in a patient with cardiac tamponade from extraluminal central line placement.