Peripheral air embolism

For air to enter the circulation, there must be a direct communication with the vascular system, with a pressure gradient favouring the passage of air into the circulation.4 The collection bags are not under a vacuum seal, so there is usually a small volume of air that would be present within the ba...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Lancet (British edition) 2013-09, Vol.382 (9897), p.1070-1070
Main Authors: Nerlekar, Nitesh, Dr, Tung, Matthew, MBBS, Rehmani, Hassan, MBChB, Wong, Dennis T L, PhD, Meredith, Ian T, Prof, Harper, Richard W, Prof
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Blood and lymphatic vessels
Cardiology. Vascular system
Catheters
Diseases of the peripheral vessels. Diseases of the vena cava. Miscellaneous
Embolism, Air - etiology
Embolisms
General aspects
Hemochromatosis - therapy
Humans
Internal Medicine
Male
Medical sciences
Medical treatment
Middle Aged
Phlebotomy - adverse effects
Pulmonary Embolism - etiology
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Tourniquets - adverse effects
Veins & arteries
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Summary:For air to enter the circulation, there must be a direct communication with the vascular system, with a pressure gradient favouring the passage of air into the circulation.4 The collection bags are not under a vacuum seal, so there is usually a small volume of air that would be present within the bag at the beginning of the procedure. In our case, the application of the tourniquet caused pressure to increase in the peripheral vein above that of the empty collection bag allowing blood flow across the positive pressure gradient to fill the bag.
ISSN:0140-6736
1474-547X
DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(13)61900-5