ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on acute central venous thrombosis in the setting of upper extremity central venous lines, dialysis catheters, and pacemaker wires. There has been a traditional fear of inserting a hemodialysis catheter on the ipsilateral side as a pacemaker or other central venous catheters (CVC) due to the risk of venous thrombosis or wire dislodgement. Risk factors for CVC-related thrombosis can be patient related, insertion related, catheter related, or a combination of any of these factors. A large retrospective cohort study examining the incidence of CVC thrombosis in pediatric patients found that 3.2% of CVCs were associated with thrombosis. There have been a number of studies that have addressed site selection for CVC-related complications and specifically thrombosis. There has been a traditional fear of inserting a hemodialysis catheter on the ipsilateral side as a pacemaker or other CVC due to the risk of venous thrombosis or wire dislodgement.
