Key result
CT-guided lung biopsy linked to severe systemic air embolism causing acute cerebral infarction and quadriplegia.
Case Report (n=1)
No
Systemic air embolism is a rare, life-threatening complication of CT-guided lung biopsy that requires immediate recognition and posture correction (Trendelenburg position) to prevent severe cardiopulmonary and neurological sequelae.
Delayed posture optimization may worsen air embolism progression; this case leaves open optimal emergency positioning protocols in lung biopsy.
Computed tomography-guided percutaneous lung biopsy is highly important for the diagnosis and prognosis of peripheral space-occupying lesions in the lungs. This article focuses on a 57-year-old female who developed air embolism during percutaneous lung biopsy and discusses “a potential delay in optimizing the patient’s posture during the emergency response, which may have contributed to the progression of complications”. Although the patient was successfully resuscitated and recovered from a life-threatening condition after 5 months of multidisciplinary consultation and treatment, serious complications still had a considerable impact on the patient’s health.
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Wen et al. (2026) conducted a case report in Lung mass / Air embolism (n=1). CT-guided percutaneous lung biopsy was evaluated. A 57-year-old female developed severe systemic air embolism during a CT-guided percutaneous lung biopsy, resulting in life-threatening complications including acute cerebral infarction and quadriplegia.
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