Common complications of central venous catheters include all of the following EXCEPT which?

• A. Bleeding around the line.
• B. Clotting of the line.
• C. A local infection.
• D. Rupture of a central vein.

Answer: (D)

Central venous catheters commonly have issues related to the insertion and presence of the line, including bleeding around the insertion site, clot formation within or around the catheter causing occlusion, and local infection from skin flora or biofilm buildup on the catheter. These are frequent enough to be expected in routine care and management of central lines.

Rupture of a central vein, while possible in some rare traumatic or technically difficult scenarios, is not a common complication of standard central venous catheter use. It’s far less likely than bleeding at the access site, catheter-related thrombosis, or local infection, which are encountered more often in practice.