A
patient with homolateral cerebral air embolism, probably caused by acupuncture
insertion into the left anterior neck, was recently reported in the Journal of
Stroke Cerebracardiovascular Diseases.
A
64-year-old male patient with post-stroke hemiplegia had an acupuncture
treatment including the needle insertion into the anterior neck, and several
hours later he developed subcutaneous emphysema into his left anterior neck and
chest wall. He was admitted into the hospital with early seizure followed by
unconsciousness and focal neurologic deficits. Initial brain scan showed small,
multiple air bubbles in the corticomedullary junction area of the left cerebral
hemisphere. The patient regained consciousness 2 days later in hospital.
The
second scan, taken 6 days after the event, showed no air bubbles in the
cerebral hemisphere but massive cerebral edema. The patient's condition
continued to improve during his hospital stay. He was discharged 3 weeks later
with minimal neurologic deficits.
The
report suggested the unilateral cerebral artery air embolism was thought to be
caused by direct infiltration of air to the common carotid artery following
acupuncture.
Although
this is a rare case report it reminded acupuncture practioners that knowledge
of human anatomy and acupuncture technique skill are very important for the
safety of patients.
Reference:
Chang DI et al., A case of intracerebral air embolism following acupuncture. J Stroke Cerebrovasc
Dis. 1995;5(4):238-40. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26486954
No comments:
Post a Comment