A Case of Unrecognized Intrathoracic Placement of a Subclavian Central Venous Catheter in a Patient with Large Traumatic Hemothorax.

Traditional recommendations suggest placementof a subclavian central venous catheter(CVC) ipsilateral to a known pneumothoraxto minimize risk of bilateral pneumothorax. We present the case of a 65-year-old male with a right hemopneumothoraxwho was found to have intrathoracic placementof his right subclavianCVC at thoracotomydespite successful aspiration of blood and transduction of central venous pressure(CVP). We thus recommend extreme caution with the interpretation of CVC placementby blood aspiration and CVP measurement alone in patients with large volume ipsilateral hemothorax.