Major ischaemic stroke caused by an air embolism from a ruptured giant pulmonary bulla.
We report an extremely rare complication of a major ischaemic cerebral event caused by an air embolism due to spontaneous rupture of a giant pulmonary bulla that occurred during an airline flight. Shortly after take-off, the patient experienced sudden right-sided hemiplegia and dyspnoea. Following an emergency landing in Reykjavik, a CT scan of the brain showed minute air bubbles consistent with air emboli within the left-sided intracerebral arteries, and MRI showed signs of acute ischaemic cerebral infarction in the left hemisphere. The patient later underwent a pulmonary lobectomy and survived this life-threatening complication with relatively mild neurological sequelae.
Departments of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland.
Johanna F
JF
Gudmundsdottir
Departments of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland.
Arnar
A
Geirsson
Department of Radiology, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland.
Petur
P
Hannesson
Departments of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.
Tomas
T
Gudbjartsson
D001037:Aphasia / Q000209:etiology; D001768:Blister / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D004618:Embolism, Air / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D006429:Hemiplegia / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010102:Oxygen Inhalation Therapy; D011030:Pneumothorax / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D012422:Rupture, Spontaneous; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed