A pulmonary artery catheter introduced via the antecubital route is currently at the 50-cm mark and is showing the tracing below. Is there a problem with this catheter?
a. Yes; the balloon has ruptured.
b. No; it's in the pulmonary artery.
c. Yes; it's knotted in the right ventricle.
d. No; it's wedged in a pulmonary capillary.
ANS: C
When a pulmonary artery catheter is introduced through the antecubital route, the distance re-quired to enter the pulmonary artery is between 40 and 50 cm. A catheter in at the 50-cm mark should be showing a pulmonary artery tracing. This waveform is a right ventricular waveform. Therefore, the catheter must be knotted in the right ventricle.
You might also like to view...
The diagnosis of RSV is most often confirmed with a sample obtained by:
a. tracheal suctioning. b. venipuncture. c. arterial blood sampling. d. urine specimen. e. nasopharyngeal aspirate.
A solid preparation that can be spread when heated is called a:
A) suppository B) spirit C) plaster D) pill