Air embolism is a rare complication of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, but potentially catastrophic. It can be clinically irrelevant, or may lead to pulmonary or even systemic embolism. Air embolism occurs mainly when low-pressure vessels are in contact with high-pressure air. Fewer than ten cases after upper gastrointestinal endoscopy have been reported [1, 2]. A 48-year-old man with clinica...

During extracorporeal circulation, the patient's blood is siphoned into the extracorporeal circuit (ECC) by gravity or may be assisted kinetically or by vacuum. In all instances, negative pressure is generated in the venous line, which can cause entrainment of air into the ECC at the cannulation site. The typical ECC uses a venous reservoir, membrane oxygenator, and arterial line filter, which ...

INTRODUCTION To reduce the risk of decompression sickness (DCS), current USAF U-2 operations require a 1-h preoxygenation (PreOx). An interruption of oxygen breathing with air breathing currently requires significant extension of the PreOx time. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between air breaks during PreOx and subsequent DCS and venous gas emboli (VGE) incidence, an...

atrial appendage closure Shuang Li, MD, Wei Chen, MD, PhD, Shuang Li, MD, Dongdong Zhao, MD, PhD, FHRS, Kai Tang, MD, PhD, FHRS, Yat-yam Lam, MD, PhD, Yawei Xu, MD, PhD, FHRS From the Department of Cardiology, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China, and Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of H...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The observed distribution of cerebral infarcts varies markedly from expectations based on blood-flow volume or Doppler embolus detection. In this study, we used an in vitro model of the cerebral arteries to test whether embolus microspheres encountering the circle of Willis are carried proportionally to volume flow or express a preferred trajectory related to arterial mor...

INTRODUCTION Asymptomatic retinal emboli have been associated with diabetes, the presence of significant carotid artery stenosis (≥70%) and an increased risk of stroke. However, there is no clear guidance on how best to investigate and manage patients found to have asymptomatic retinal emboli. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the incidence of significant carotid artery stenosis in patients...

UNLABELLED Arterial line filters (ALFs) are arguably the most important component in the cardiopulmonary bypass circuit to protect the patient from gaseous macro- and micro-emboli (GME) originating in the perfusion circuit. The GME separating ability of 10 ALFs was ranked according to seven performance criteria. Ten ALFs rated between 20 and 43 microm were evaluated for flow resistance, the cou...

The detection and prevention of gaseous microemboli (GMEs) during cardiopulmonary bypass has generated considerable interest within the cardiac surgical community. There have been several landmark papers that have used transcranial Doppler devices during cardiopulmonary bypass to detect gaseous microemboli activity in the patients' middle cerebral artery during perfusionist interventions. To de...

Gaseous microemboli (GME) are a potential complication of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Though it is difficult to prove that GME is the only major cause of neurological deficits, it may increase the chance of post-operative cognitive dysfunction if not removed. The objectives of this research were to compare LivaNova-Sorin Inspire (Inspire) oxygenator with a Medtronic arterial filter to the Med...

Membranes were first conceived in the early 1950's. Development of this type of device seemed the logical approach because of the obvious disadvantage of the bubble oxygenator, namely, the direct contact of gaseous oxygen and blood precipitating considerable blood trauma. Membrane technology has literally raised the method of respiratory exchange from an unphysiologic, mechanical mixing of oxyg...