Citation

Doostan DK, Steffenson SL, Snoey ER. J. Emerg. Med. 2003; 25(1): 29-34.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/s0736-4679(03)00102-1

PMID

12865105

Abstract

Uncooperative but alert on arrival, a 21-year-old suicidal man was found suddenly unconscious with agonal respirations 2 h into his Emergency Department evaluation. Initially admitted for ingesting multiple pills and self-inflicting a deep wrist laceration, the patient now had a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 3, a dense left-sided hemiplegia, and an electrocardiogram suggestive of acute myocardial infarction. This constellation of physical findings, together with an echocardiogram revealing bi-ventricular gas artifact, led to a diagnosis of coronary and cerebral air emboli. The patient was urgently resuscitated and then underwent hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Subsequent examination confirmed a full recovery. This article details this unprecedented case, as well as clinically relevant aspects of air embolism.

Language: en

Keywords

Adult; Coronary Thrombosis; Echocardiography; Embolism, Air; Emergency Service, Hospital; Hemiplegia; Humans; Hyperbaric Oxygenation; Intracranial Embolism; Male; Mental Disorders; Suicide, Attempted; Treatment Outcome