Abstract
Air embolism is a rare but potentially catastrophic complication of interventional procedures. The occurrence of acute right ventricular dysfunction during intraoperative auto-transfusion of blood, presumably related to pulmonary embolism of agitated air microbubbles and microthrombi, is less commonly recognized. We report a case of auto-transfusion complicated by acute right ventricular failure and pulseless electrical activity arrest. Auto-transfusion of recovered blood is a practical solution to reduce need for post-procedure allogenic transfusions. Although such interventions are frequently performed without complications, they do have inherent risks that should be readily acknowledged. This case clearly describes a severe complication and sequelae of auto-transfusion. <Learning objective: Auto-transfusion of recovered blood is commonly performed in surgical and interventional procedures to reduce the need for allogenic transfusion. Despite this benefit, the risks and complications of auto-transfusion can be severe and must be considered. We report a case of intraprocedural auto-transfusion resulting in introduction of air emboli and subsequent cardiac arrest. Additionally, we provide a brief review of air emboli and underlying pathophysiology that leads to cardiovascular decline.>
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 119-122 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Journal of Cardiology Cases |
Volume | 17 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 2018 |
Keywords
- Auto-transfusion
- Cardiac arrest
- Cell salvage
- Embolism
- Microthrombi