IMPORTANT: We currently have a number of bugs related to image cropping and are actively trying to resolve them. In the meantime, we have disabled cropping. Apologies for any inconvenience. Stay informed: radiopaedia.org/chat

External artifact - central venous catheter

Case contributed by Amanda Er
Diagnosis certain

Presentation

Shortness of breath with background of end stage renal failure. To rule out fluid overload.

Patient Data

Age: 50 years
Gender: Male

The catheter projected over the enlarged heart was confirmed by the referring clinician to be an external artifact.

Pulmonary venous congestion, bilateral perihilar haziness as well as small bilateral pleural effusions are suggestive of pulmonary edema. No free subdiaphragmatic gas observed.

Note: Linear density over neck region from patient's surgical mask.

Case Discussion

In this case, a central venous catheter was an external artifact that should have been removed prior to imaging. Doing so would prevent clinicians from mistaking:

  • the patient to have an anatomical variant

  • the catheter to be malpositioned

Radiographers performing imaging should always ensure that all removable artifacts have been moved out of the region of interest, and should also question the presence of any artifact. If such artifacts are not removed, proper documentation should then be performed to convey their presence on the radiograph.

How to use cases

You can use Radiopaedia cases in a variety of ways to help you learn and teach.

Creating your own cases is easy.

Updating… Please wait.

 Unable to process the form. Check for errors and try again.

 Thank you for updating your details.