Delayed Presentation of Air Embolism Within Cerebral Arteries Following Computed Tomography-Guided Lung Biopsy

• Published in: Curēus (Palo Alto, CA) Vol. 15; no. 1; p. e33205
• Main Authors: Yang, Cunli, Ong, Shao J, Loh, Stanley E, Anil, Gopinathan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Springer Nature B.V 01.01.2023; Cureus
• Subjects: Biopsy; Cardiac/Thoracic/Vascular Surgery; Case reports; Embolisms; Embolization; Hemorrhage; Ischemia; Magnetic resonance imaging; Medical imaging; Mortality; Neurology; Pneumothorax; Pulmonary arteries; Radiology; Stroke; Thorax; Tomography; Veins & arteries; Watersheds; ct guided biopsy; iatrogenic complication; lung biopsy; interventional radiology; thoracic radiology; hyperbaric oxygen therapy (hbot); metastatic cancer of unknown primary; vascular air embolism; acute ischaemic stroke
• ISSN: 2168-8184; 2168-8184
• DOI: 10.7759/cureus.33205

Computed tomography (CT)-guided percutaneous core needle biopsy of the lung is a frequently performed interventional radiological procedure. Most complications are minor and self-resolving. However, a rare but potentially fatal complication is that of systemic air embolism, especially when to the cerebral or coronary arteries. This study reports a case of delayed (12 hours after initial biopsy) air embolism in the cerebral arteries that resulted from an otherwise uncomplicated biopsy of a lung nodule. It is vital for early diagnostic confirmation and appropriate treatment if possible, though maximal efforts at prevention are still recommended.