Systemic air embolism after endoscopy without vessel injury - A summary of reported cases

Systemic air embolism (SAE) is a rare but serious complication following endoscopic procedures. It may occur with or without direct vessel injury. The aim of this work is to review cases of SAE following endoscopy without proven vessel injury.

In this systematic review PubMed database was screened for SAE following endoscopy from 1990 to 2015. Only cases without proven major vessel injury were included in the analysis. Including one case of SAE after colonoscopy from our hospital the analysis comprised 40 cases.

60% of patients underwent ERCP, 33% gastroscopy and the remaining 7% other endoscopic procedures. Among patients suffering from SAE the majority had cerebral embolism (73%). In 46% of documented echocardiography a patent foramen ovale (PFO) has been confirmed as mechanism of paradoxical air embolism. Therapeutic approaches comprised most frequently hyperbaric oxygenation. In 35% of cases advanced life support was necessary whereas only 55% of patients survived SAE in total.

SAE is a serious complication of endoscopic procedures with high morbidity and mortality. In patients with present PFO high awareness should be paid to informed consent for the risk of SAE, especially stroke. Cautiousness with sedation is necessary in those patients not to delay clinical recognition of neurological SAE symptoms.