Objective: To report the use of a new pediatric central venous catheter that offers continuous central venous saturation (ScVO2) monitoring in the critically ill child.
Design: Case report.
Setting: Pediatric intensive care unit in a tertiary care children's hospital.
Patient: A 3-month-old child, following cardiac surgery, with an isolated decrease in central venous saturations.
Interventions: Diagnosis of pericardial effusion by echocardiography followed by surgical drainage.
Measurements and main results: ScVO2 readings quickly returned to normal, and the remaining patient course was uneventful.
Conclusions: We report the first case of a newly modified central venous catheter (PediaSat Oximetry Catheter, Edwards Lifesciences LLC, Irvine, CA) for children and demonstrate its utility in a patient with impaired oxygen delivery when traditional markers remain stable. This catheter enabled the rapid diagnosis of cardiac compromise due to pericardial effusion, leading to early treatment. Traditional central catheter functions and insertion technique are maintained, making the catheter potentially useful in any critically ill child.