Maim, death cases following the installation of vascular access devices filed with specialized forensic medicine commissions of Tehran, Iran, 2013-2018, (A descriptive study)

Implantation of vascular access devices is of great importance in critically ill patients or those vulnerable to clinical worsening. The aim of this study was to identify the complications of implantation of vascular access leading to complaints from patients, in the forensic medicine commissions of Tehran.

The present descriptive-cross sectional study was performed on all cases that died from implantation of vascular access devices and complaints about permanent local complications caused by this procedure, filed with the forensic medicine commissions of Tehran in period of 2013-2018, based on selected variables, and the results were statistically analyzed using the chi-square and Fisher exact tests in SPSS Version 18. A p-value of <0.01 was considered statistically significant.

All alleged deaths were due to implantation of central venous port placed in a large vein in the neck, and most organ failure cases were attributed to anterior forearm deformity. The most common cause of death was acute cardiac death; internal bleeding was observed in 14% of them. Most complaints of death were filed against general surgery and anesthesia assistants, and most complaints about peripheral venipuncture were against trainee nurses. The present study findings were significantly different in terms of cannulation site, age, cause of death, type of local complication (p<0.01).

This study shows, as patients become more aware, complaints from physicians about implantation of vascular access, in the judicial authority are also on the rise. Therefore, in choosing these patients, Venice should be treated more carefully.