Three-dimensional spiral CT reconstruction in a patient with massive cerebral air embolism

Cerebral air embolism may be caused by iatrogenic or post-traumatic introduction of air into arterial or venous systems. It is usually revealed by computerized tomography. In this paper, we report a case with thorax trauma and loss of consciousness, in whom cerebral massive air embolism was detected and its distribution was demonstrated by using 3D spiral CT reconstruction. To our knowledge, this is the first case in whom 3D spiral CT reconstruction was used for demonstration of cerebral arterial air embolism.