Central Venous Pressure Monitoring

Case Synopsis

A 65-year-old man is taken to the operating room for coronary artery bypass grafting. After induction of anesthesia, a right internal jugular triple-lumen central venous catheter (CVC) is placed. The operation proceeds without complications, and the patient is taken to the intensive care unit at the conclusion of the case. As the patient recovers from surgery, his care team decides to leave his CVC in place because peripheral intravenous (IV) access attempts have proved difficult. On the fourth postoperative day, the patient develops fever and chills, followed by tachycardia and hypotension.