COMPLICATIONS RELATED to a standard nursery intervention developed in each of these infants (Figure 1 through Figure 4).
Denouement and Discussion
Umbilical Artery Catheter–Related Thromboembolism
DISCUSSION
Umbilical artery catheterization provides ready access in sick neonates to monitor the acid-base balance, to administer intravascular fluids and medications, and to obtain laboratory test samples. The utility provided by this route of access is tempered by a significant rate of complications. Among the reported problems associated with this form of intervention are arterial thrombosis, infections, catheter embolism, neurologic complications, hypertension, necrotizing enterocolitis, aortic aneurysms, and bleeding diatheses.1The most common complication of umbilical artery catheterization is thrombosis because the catheters may act as a foreign body nidus or they may cause damage to the vessel intima, which contributes to thrombus formation. The incidence of arterial thrombus formation has been reported to range from 3.5% to 60% of catheterized infants.2,3The wide