[Tension pneumomediastinum and tension pneumothorax following tracheal perforation during cardiopulmonary resuscitation].

This article presents the case of a 41-year-old woman who suffered cardiopulmonary arrest after undergoing elective mandibular surgery. During CPR the upper airway could not be secured by orotracheal intubation due to massive craniofacial soft tissue swelling. A surgical airway was established with obviously unrecognized iatrogenic tracheal perforation and subsequent development of tension pneumomediastinum and tension pneumothorax during ventilation. Neither the tension pneumomediastinum nor the tension pneumothorax were decompressed and accordingly resuscitation efforts remained unsuccessful. This case illustrates the need for a structured approach to resuscitate patients with ventilation problems regarding decompression of tension pneumomediastinum and/or tension pneumothorax during CPR. PMID: 26036317 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Der Anaesthesist - Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Tags: Anaesthesist Source Type: research