Aeroembolism in left atrium during catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation in a patient with dextrocardia: a case report and review of the literature

BMC Cardiovascular Disorders

Case Report

Yun-fan Wang¹  Jian-wu Yu¹  Xue-jiang Cen¹  Li-hong Wang¹  Bai-ming Qu¹ 

[1] Department of Cardiology, Zhejiang Provincial Peoples’ Hospital, Shangtang Road 158#, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China;

关键词: Aeroembolism;    Atrial fibrillation;    Catheter ablation;    Dextrocardia;    Case report;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12872-017-0581-7

 received in 2016-10-07, accepted in 2017-05-25,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundAir embolus penetrating into heart chamber as a complication during percutaneous radiofrequency catheter ablation has been infrequently reported.Case presentationA 55-year-old man with dextrocardia who suffered from abdominal pain was suspected to have multiple arterial thromboembolisms, which might have originated from left atrium thrombosis since he had atrial fibrillation. He received oral anticoagulant therapy and catheter ablation of the arrhythmia. During the ablation procedure, an iatrogenic aeroembolism penetrated into the left atrium due to improper operation. Ultimately, the entire air embolus was extracted from the patient, who was free of any aeroembolism events thereafter.ConclusionsIt is essential for an operator to pay full attention to all details of the procedure to avoid an aeroembolism during catheter ablation. In case of aeroembolism, removal by aspiration is an optimal and effective treatment.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017