# Prevention of air embolism related to central venous catheter removal: an integrative review

## TL;DR

This paper reviews methods to prevent air embolism during central venous catheter removal, finding that modified techniques and suturing may help.

## Contribution

The study identifies specific catheter removal techniques that may reduce air embolism risk, highlighting the need for further experimental validation.

## Key findings

- A modified catheter removal technique reduced air embolism compared to traditional methods.
- Suturing the catheter during removal was also found to be effective in preventing air embolism.
- Further experimental research is needed to confirm best practices and explore factors like patient positioning.

## Abstract

The removal of a central venous catheter can cause serious complications, such as air embolism, but there is limited evidence on effective prevention methods. This integrative review followed PRISMA guidelines and analyzed studies in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, without time restrictions, in the LILACS, Web of Science, PubMed, CINAHL, and EMBASE databases. Two studies were selected. One compared two removal methods and found that the modified technique reduced the occurrence of air embolism compared to the traditional method. The other study indicated that removal with suture over the catheter was also effective in prevention. Despite these promising findings, experimental research is needed to determine best practices. Additionally, factors such as patient positioning and maneuvers like the Valsalva maneuver should be further studied to optimize air embolism prevention.

A remoção do cateter venoso central pode ocasionar complicações graves, como a embolia gasosa, embora existam poucas evidências sobre métodos eficazes para sua prevenção. Esta revisão integrativa seguiu as diretrizes do Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, incluiu estudos em inglês, português e espanhol, sem restrição temporal, pesquisados nas bases LILACS, Web of Science, PubMed, CINAHL e EMBASE. Foram selecionados dois estudos: um comparou dois métodos de remoção e demonstrou que a técnica modificada reduziu a ocorrência de embolia gasosa em relação ao método tradicional; o outro indicou que a remoção com sutura sobre o cateter também foi eficaz na prevenção. Apesar desses achados promissores, há necessidade de mais pesquisas experimentais para definir as melhores práticas. Além disso, fatores como o posicionamento do paciente e manobras como a de Valsalva devem ser mais investigados para otimizar a prevenção da embolia gasosa.