Hazards of inadvertent umbilical venous catheterization in a patient with anomalous pulmonary venous drainage: A case report

Obstructed anomalous pulmonary venous return may masquerade clinically as persistent fetal circulation in newborns. Even after cardiac catheterization has been performed, a similar conclusion could be reached if pulmonary blood flow is low in volume and pulmonary venous return is significantly delayed. To make the diagnosis by demonstrating the confluence of pulmonary veins by direct catheterization from the venous side may be difficult and can lead potentially to sudden deterioration by increasing the obstruction to venous return. The authors encountered these pitfalls in making the diagnosis of obstructed pulmonary venous return in a recent patient, which prompted this case report.