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Cerebral and coronary air embolism: an intradepartmental suicide attempt.
Full Recovery with Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Doostan DK, Steffenson SL, Snoey ER.

Department of Emergency Medicine, Alameda County Medical Center, Highland Hospital, 1411 E. 31st Street, Oakland, CA 94602, USA.

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.

PMID: 12865105 [PubMed - in process]

Reprinted with Permission

Brain Disorders/Neurological Index