Azan Benjamin, Teran Felipe, Nelson Bret P, Andrus Phillip
Department of Emergency Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.
J Emerg Med. 2016 Dec;51(6):680-683. doi: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2016.05.064. Epub 2016 Sep 9.
Vascular air embolism is a rare but potentially deadly phenomenon. Early diagnosis allows providers to initiate measures aimed at preventing further air entry, preventing the migration of air to the lungs, and mitigating the hemodynamic effects of pulmonary air embolism.
An emergency physician used point-of-care ultrasound to identify intravascular air before embolization to the pulmonary vasculature. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Bedside ultrasound can be used as a tool for early diagnosis of intravascular air. Emergency physicians should be aware of the typical sonographic manifestations of intravascular air and the initial steps in treating vascular air embolism.
