Images in Anesthesiology: Pulmonary Thromboembolism

Acute pulmonary embolism is a life-threatening event. The most frequent source of pulmonary embolism is iliofemoral deep venous thrombosis, shown in the femoral vein sonogram, as an echogenic density within the lumen with no intraluminal flow (arrow in imageA). Supplemental Digital Content 1 (http://links.lww.com/ALN/B780) shows significant emboli occluding the right upper and middle lobe pulmonary arteries with near complete lack of perfusion of these two lobes (arrows in imageB) on a pulmonary angiogram, a gold standard test for detecting pulmonary embolism. Supplemental Digital Content 2 (http://links.lww.com/ALN/B781) shows recanalization with prompt treatment using intraarterial and systemic tissue plasminogen activator and suction thrombectomy.
Source: Anesthesiology - Category: Anesthesiology Source Type: research