[Diagnosis of an infected thrombus of the inferior vena cava with ultrasound and computerized tomography].

The incidence of central venous catheter-associated thrombosis is up to 66%; nevertheless, in most cases it is of little clinical importance. A rare, but serious complication is infection of a catheter-associated thrombosis, which occurs in 7-16%. We report the case of a 16-year-old male patient, who suffered from meningitis and Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome. After initial improvement in the intensive care unit, he developed septic temperatures, caused by an infected thrombus of a central venous catheter in the inferior vena cava. Color-coded ultrasound showed hyperechogenic signals and missing flow detection at the catheter tip. Computed tomography showed air bubbles in the thrombosed catheter tip and confirmed the diagnosis. Vascular surgery was done and an infected, 17-cm-long infected thrombus was removed. The recent literature on this topic is reviewed.