Irish journal of medical science
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Case Reports
Foreign body complications of central venous catheterisation in critically ill patients.
In three critically ill patients, central venous catheter--associated foreign bodies were identified while the patients were in the intensive care unit. Two patients had fragments of retained catheter; in the third patient a guide-wire was lost within the vascular tree. The catheter fragments were associated with clinical symptoms while side effects were not observed with loss of the guide-wire. All three foreign bodies were removed without complications.