Systemic gas embolism complicating pulmonary contusion : diagnosis and management using transesophageal echocardiography

Systemic air embolism has been frequently reported after penetrating thoracic trauma. In blunt thoracic trauma, systemic air embolism has been rarely diagnosed, and then only after an invasive procedure such as thoracotomy. Transesophageal echocardiography has been recently introduced for the early assessment of trauma patients and is considered a sensitive noninvasive procedure to diagnose air embolism. We report three cases of systemic air embolism in patients with pulmonary contusion secondary to a blunt thoracic trauma requiring controlled ventilation. Transesophageal echocardiography was performed for evaluation of hemodynamic instability, and it showed air bubbles in the left atrium and left ventricle during the insufflation phase, which disappeared during apnea. A decrease in airway pressure (release of PEEP, low tidal volume, high frequency jet ventilation) significantly reduced the systemic air embolism. We concluded that systemic air embolism can occur after blunt thoracic trauma, and transesophageal echocardiography enables a rapid and accurate diagnosis that may be useful for therapeutic management.