Air Bubbles Introduced From Peripheral Intravenous Lines Into the Cerebral Venous System

In the Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology, Rossiter-Thornton et al (1) illustrate air from a peripheral intravenous line lodged in the superior ophthalmic vein of an 83-year-old woman. We reported a similar case 25 years ago; our case differed in that air was trapped in the cavernous sinus (2). Numerous case reports have documented this phenomenon, with air bubbles visible on head computerized tomography imaging in 27/12,880 (0.2%) of patients after intravenous line placement.