• J Extra Corpor Technol · Mar 2019

    Case Reports

    Massive Air Embolism Caused by a Central Venous Catheter During Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation.

    • Akshay Kumar, Suresh Keshavamurthy, Jesus Gomez Abraham, and Yoshiya Toyoda.
    • Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
    • J Extra Corpor Technol. 2019 Mar 1; 51 (1): 9-11.

    AbstractExtracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has become an integral treatment option for patients as a bridge to transplant, management of post cardiotomy cardiogenic shock, and for rescue after cardiopulmonary arrest. Significant strides in ECMO technology and management cannot, however, replace the importance of maintaining and following a comprehensive safety checklist. We herein report a case of massive air entrainment from an inadvertently disconnected port of a central venous catheter (CVC) in the neck which culminated in an airlock of the ECMO circuit. Ascertaining the relative position of the tip of the CVC with respect to the venous cannula on chest X-ray, tightly securing all its ports, and appraising and educating the health-care team can prevent this rare but devastating complication of fatal air embolism.

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