Southern medical journal
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Southern medical journal · Oct 2003
Case ReportsNear-fatal air embolism: fibrin sheath as the portal of air entry.
Complications of central venous catheters occur in less than 1% of all insertions. Of these, pulmonary air embolism is a rare though often fatal complication. ⋯ There has also been speculation that the presence of a fibrin sheath after removal might be a mechanism for air entry. We present a case of a near-fatal pulmonary air embolus with documentation of air in the pulmonary outflow trunk and a residual air-filled fibrin tract seen on computed tomography.