Nitrous Oxide and Air-filled Balloon-tipped Catheters

Dilated ascending aorta is associated with the difficulty in correct placement of pulmonary artery catheter

“…[8] We too found that the fully inflated balloon was associated with difficulty in its placement into the PA than at lesser volume of air inflation. Later on, the position of the catheter tip in the main PA was also confirmed on chest X-ray [ Figure 4].…”

Knot in the Cava—An Unusual Complication of Swan–Ganz Catheters

“…Complications associated with the presence of the catheter are: infection, pulmonary thrombosis/infarction, valvular damage/endocarditis, pulmonary artery perforation and thrombocytopenia from heparin coating of the catheters. 9 Rarer complications include balloon rupture, balloon separation 10,11 Horner's syndrome and osteomyelitis of the clavicle. 12,13 Criticism has been raised regarding the intrinsic complications associated with their use by physicians inadequately trained in their placement, marginally skilled in obtaining the available data, and limited in their ability to interpret the data so obtained.…”

Complications Associated with Pulmonary Artery Catheters: A Comprehensive Clinical Review

“…An unusual cause of PACballoon rupturemay occur during anesthesia with nitrous oxide (N 2 O) due to increased solubility of this gas. N 2 Odiffuses into the balloon and increases its diameter,po-tentially causing difficulties when floating and/or manipulating the PAC (47). While structural failures of PA catheters arer are( incidence~0.4%) (16), PAC fragments can undergo remote embolization, including thepulmonary artery (48).…”