Central Venous Catheter-related Cardiac Tamponade in Premature Infants: A Report of Two Cases and a Literature Review

Although central catheter-related complications are frequently reported and are inevitable in the neonatal care unit, the incidence of pericardiac tamponade is low but may be fatal. Index of suspicion, prompt diagnosis, and urgent pericardiocentesis are crucial for lifesaving. We encountered two premature cases of central venous catheter-related pericardial tamponade. The first case was a 4-day-old male premature infant (gestational age [GA], 33 +5 weeks; birth weight [BW], 1,864 g), and the second case was a 4-day-old female premature infant (GA, 28 +6 week; BW, 1,050 g). Each infant had an indwelling central venous catheter since birth and at the third day of hospitalization. The conditions of the babies suddenly deteriorated, but both babies were successfully resuscitated with urgent echocardiography and prompt pericardiocentesis.