Fat emboli and shock

Genesis of fat emboli.

Transcranial doppler detection of fat emboli.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The fat embolism syndrome (FES) is characterized by the simultaneous occurrence of pulmonary and neurological symptoms as well as skin and mucosal petechiae in the setting of long-bone fractures or their surgical repair. Its pathophysiology is poorly understood, and effective treatments are lacking. We present 5 patients with long-bone fractures in whom in vivo microembol...

Cerebral fat emboli: a trigger of post-operative delirium.

Accumulating evidence implicates cerebral fat embolism (CFE) as a causative agent in post-operative confusion (POC). CFE occurs following orthopaedic procedures including, intra-medullary (IM) nailing and total joint arthroplasty (TJA). The incidence of CFE is high (59-100% TJA) and the resulting POC is associated with higher overall complication rates. Cognitive dysfunction improves in many pa...

The problem of fat emboli after orthopedic trauma

Introduction Trauma or surgery to long bones can disturb the intramedullary canal and produce pressure and mechanical changes which result in the extravasation of fat and marrow into the venous circulation [1]. This material can enter the pulmonary microcirculation and produce pulmonary parenchymal damage by a combination of direct tissue hypoxia due to mechanical pulmonary arteriole obstructio...

Imaging Transcranial Doppler Detection of Cerebral Fat Emboli and Relation to Paradoxical Embolism A Pilot Study

Background—The fat embolism syndrome is clinically characterized by dyspnea, skin petechiae, and neurological dysfunction. It is associated mainly with long bone fracture and bone marrow fat passage to the systemic circulation. An intracardiac right-to-left shunt (RLS) could allow larger fat particles to reach the systemic circulation. Transcranial Doppler can be a useful tool to detect both RL...