title: Air embolism during anaesthesia for shoulder arthroscopy.
abstract: We report a case of venous air embolism during an elective shoulder arthroscopy in which air was used as a joint distending agent. Venous air embolism was diagnosed by the sudden decrease in the end-tidal carbon dioxide concentration. The patient suffered no serious complications of venous air embolism and made a full recovery. We present this case to make surgeons and anaesthetists aware of the possibility of gas/air embolism during elective arthroscopy, when gas/air is used to distend the joint. This case also illustrates that the end-tidal carbon dioxide monitor, which is part of the standard anaesthetic monitoring system, is very sensitive in detecting venous air embolism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia, Queen's Hospital, Burton upon Trent, UK.
authors.forename: R T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Hegde
authors.forename: R N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Avatgere
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000768:Anesthesia, General; D001182:Arthroscopy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004618:Embolism, Air / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016343:Monitoring, Intraoperative / Q000379:methods; D012785:Shoulder Joint / Q000601:surgery*