Why the study?
Does real-time three-dimensional TEE improve the diagnosis of massive pulmonary embolism compared to two-dimensional TEE in a patient with post-caesarean cardiac arrest?
Does real-time three-dimensional TEE improve the diagnosis of massive pulmonary embolism compared to two-dimensional TEE in a patient with post-caesarean cardiac arrest?
Real-time 3D TEE may be superior to 2D TEE for the emergent bedside diagnosis of central pulmonary embolism during cardiac arrest.
May aid emergent central PE detection during arrest when 2D TEE is negative; leaves open need for prospective validation before practice change.
Post-caesarean pulmonary embolism (PE) is associated with significant peri-operative morbidity and mortality. This report describes a case of sudden cardiac arrest 2 days post-caesarean due to massive PE diagnosed via bedside transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). Recognition of the PE at the bifurcation of the right and left pulmonary arteries was achieved by real-time three-dimensional TEE, but not two-dimensional TEE. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was immediately established and emergent pulmonary thromboembolectomy was performed. The patient was discharged without residual deficits on Day 22 of hospitalization.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Wei et al. (2010) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 2 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: