title: Tachyarrhythmia due to atrial fibrillation in an intragastric balloon carrier: coincidence or consequence?
abstract: A morbidly obese patient is reported who underwent insertion of a BioEnterics Intragastric Balloon (BIB) as a pre-surgical procedure (ie. prior to restrictive gastric banding). While carrying the BIB, the patient suffered an episode of severe supraventricular tachyarrhythmia (atrial fibrillation). Although such an event is not definitely correlated to the BIB, the episode led us to modify the pre-treatment protocol, introducing dynamic Holter ECG into the work-up investigations and excluding subjects with a pathological cardiac rhythm.
authors.affiliation: DETO, Section of General Surgery and Trapianto di Fegato, University of Bari, Italy. g.bros@tiscali.it
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Puglisi
authors.forename: Palma
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Capuano
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Veneziani
authors.forename: Pierluigi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lobascio
authors.forename: Angela D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Di Franco
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lograno
authors.forename: Onofrio Caputi
authors.initials: OC
authors.lastname: Iambrenghi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000209:etiology*; D015905:Gastric Balloon / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000601:surgery*; D013610:Tachycardia / Q000209:etiology*