Korean J Crit Care Med.  2004 Jun;19(1):38-41.

Pulmonary Embolism Detected in the General Ward after Operation: A Case Report

• Lew SH
• Jun JH
• Yoo HK
• Kim YH

Abstract

Pulmonary embolism is a common medical complication following major orthopedic procedures of the lower extremities and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. However, the clinical manifestations of pulmonary embolism are nonspecific and it may be difficult to diagnose. An 82 years old female with severe restrictive pulmonary disease received the elective operation for the fracture of left femur neck under combined spinal-epidural anesthesia. During the operation, we sometimes gave her oxygen via face mask and maintained oxygen saturation of more than 80% which was measured by a pulse oxymeter. The operation and anesthesia was performed uneventfully. On the seventh postoperative day, she showed tachycardia suddenly and cardiac arrest later on the electrocardiogram. After cardiopulmonary resuscitation, she was transferred to intensive care unit and checked by a computed tomography and echocardiography. She was diagnosed with pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis and treated with heparin and urokinase. But she did not improve and died.

Keyword

Deep vein thrombosis; Pulmonary embolism; Tachycardia

MeSH Terms

Aged, 80 and over
Anesthesia
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
Echocardiography
Electrocardiography
Female
Femur Neck
Heart Arrest
Heparin
Humans
Intensive Care Units
Lower Extremity
Lung Diseases
Masks
Mortality
Orthopedic Procedures
Oxygen
Patients' Rooms*
Pulmonary Embolism*
Tachycardia
Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator
Venous Thrombosis
Heparin
Oxygen
Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator