A 55 year old man admitted to the ICU for sepsis, recovering multi-organ failure with persistent culture-negative fever.

Longitudinal view of the left internal jugular vein.

What do you see?

scroll below for an answer!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thrombosed internal jugular catheter. This patient was anticoagulated. The fever disappeared within a few days and the thombosis decreased significantly.  It is difficult to be certain whether the fever was a cause but examining central lines is part of our fever workup.