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Acute cardiac tamponade (ACT) is a life-threatening complication associated with a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) in premature neonates. We present a case of ACT in a 4-day-old male infant. On the second admission day, a PICC was inserted. After 2.5 months, chest radiography showed PICC fracture, and its distal portion had migrated into the right pulmonary artery. Percutaneous removal through cardiac catheterization was attempted. However, right ventriculography demonstrated intrapericardial spillage of contrast agents, and iatrogenic ACT was confirmed. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was immediately started with open-chest cardiac massage. Further surgical exploration revealed right atrial appendage perforation. After 25-min CPR, the patient restored spontaneous circulation, and removal of the foreign bodies was performed. The post-operative course was uneventful. PICC fracture is an uncommon complication, but may be life-threatening. Precaution should be taken to avoid ACT during removal of a broken PICC. Once the tamponade is diagnosed, immediate interventions are mandatory.

The aim of this study was to review the early and mid-term outcomes of the total cavopulmonary connection (TCPC) procedure and evaluate risk factors for prolonged pleural effusions.The clinical records of 82 consecutive patients, who underwent a TCPC operation between January 2008 and December 2013, were reviewed for incidence of prolonged pleural effusions, duration of ventilation time and pleural drainage, length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, and early and mid-term morbidity and mortality.The median age at surgery was 3.0 years. The main single ventricle diagnoses included 18 cases of a double-inlet single ventricle, 17 cases of heterotaxy, 16 cases of tricuspid atresia, 4 cases of mitral atresia, 12 cases of unbalanced complete atrioventricular canal (CAVC), 5 cases of double-outlet right ventricle (DORV) combined with ventricular septal defect (VSD) and pulmonary stenosis (PS), 4 cases of transposition of the great arteries (TGA) combined with VSD and PS, 4 cases of corrected transposition of great arteries (cTGA) combined VSD and PS, and 2 cases of criss-cross heart. Preoperative mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) was 13.66±2.21 mmHg with 23.2% (n=19) higher than 15 mmHg. A total of 61 (74.4%) patients underwent a fenestration. The perioperative mortality was 4.9%. The median duration of pleural effusion was 10 days (range, 3-80 days), and prolonged pleural effusions occurred in 16 (19.5%) patients. Multivariable analysis revealed that mPAP15 mmHg was independently associated with prolonged pleural effusions (OR, 8.33; 95% CI, 2.33-29.74; P=0.001), and creation of a fenestration was associated with decreased odds of effusion (OR, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.06-0.74; P=0.015). Five-year estimated Kaplan-Meier survival of two-stage TCPC was significantly higher than that of one-stage group(96.7% vs. 79.7%, P=0.023). Patients with heterotaxy or obstructed totally anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC) had significantly worse mid-term survival.Staged TCPC improved the early and mid-term survival of patients with a single ventricle. mPAP15 mmHg was independently associated with prolonged pleural effusions and a fenestration significantly associated with a lower odds of effusion.