Key result
Alteplase successfully treated a massive pulmonary embolism with pulseless electrical activity during general anesthesia, leading to full cardiopulmonary recovery without complications.
Case Report (n=1)
No
Thrombolytic therapy with alteplase during cardiopulmonary resuscitation can be a successful and life-saving treatment for massive pulmonary embolism causing cardiac arrest.
Alteplase may be viable for intraoperative massive PE arrest; single case leaves open need for controlled trials before wider use.
Massive pulmonary embolism is associated with significant perioperative morbidity and mortality. We report here on a case of a 69-year-old man who suffered a massive pulmonary embolism with pulseless electrical activity during knee arthroscopic surgery. After a diagnosis was made by performing transthoracic echocardiography, the patient was treated with recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator. The patient was transferred to the intensive care unit after his hemodynamic status improved. The patient went on to make a full cardiopulmonary recovery without any complications.
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Kim et al. (2010) conducted a case report in Massive pulmonary embolism (n=1). Alteplase (recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator) was evaluated on Cardiopulmonary recovery. Alteplase successfully treated a massive pulmonary embolism with pulseless electrical activity during general anesthesia, leading to full cardiopulmonary recovery without complications.
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