PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Rosenblum, Stephen E.
AU  - Ratliff, Norman B.
AU  - Shirey, Earl K.
AU  - Sedmak, Daniel D.
AU  - Taylor, Paul C.
TI  - Pulmonary artery dissection induced by a Swan-Ganz catheter
DP  - 1984 Dec 21
TA  - Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine
PG  - 671--675
VI  - 51
IP  - 4
4099  - http://www.ccjm.org/content/51/4/671.short
4100  - http://www.ccjm.org/content/51/4/671.full
SO  - Cleve Clin J Med1984 Dec 21; 51
AB  - A 70-year-old woman died after coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Autopsy revealed bilateral, massive, intrapulmonary hemorrhage secondary to pulmonary artery dissection induced by a Swan-Ganz catheter. Cystic medionecrosis of the pulmonary arteries was also identified. Catheter-induced pulmonary artery trauma is associated with a high mortality. Hemoptysis is the usual presenting sign. Great caution should be exercised when using Swan-Ganz catheters in elderly patients with known pulmonary hypertension, particularly in the setting of cardiac surgery or anticoagulation.