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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · J Neuroanaesth Crit Care 2022; 09(03): 198-200
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1748840
Case Report

Delayed Aspiration of Air Emboli from the Central Venous Catheter in a Case of Suspected Massive Venous Air Embolism: A Therapeutic Success

Ankur Khandelwal 
1   Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, Sharda University School of Medical Sciences and Research, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
,
Sudhansu S. Nayak
2   Department of Anesthesiology, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi, India
,
Anshil Bhatia 
1   Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, Sharda University School of Medical Sciences and Research, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
,
Amit K. Shrivastava 
3   Department of Neurosurgery, Neurosciences Centre, Sharda University School of Medical Sciences and Research, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
,
Vikas Bhardwaj 
3   Department of Neurosurgery, Neurosciences Centre, Sharda University School of Medical Sciences and Research, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
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Abstract

Venous air embolism (VAE), though, clinically benign in majority of cases, the significant ones can lead to life-threatening cardiopulmonary and neurological consequences. Though studies mention the success rate of only 6 to 16% in aspirating air from the central venous catheter (CVC) during VAE, the technique is very specific for diagnosing VAE and has high therapeutic significance. We report a case in which delayed aspiration of air emboli from the CVC in suspected massive VAE during decompressive craniectomy resulted in rapid resolution of hemodynamic instability. If not inserted previously, CVC may be considered in a hemodynamically unstable patient with suspected VAE.

Keywords

air embolism - central venous catheters - hemodynamic - neurosurgery


Publication History

Article published online:
20 July 2022

© 2022. Indian Society of Neuroanaesthesiology and Critical Care. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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