Spontaneous tension pneumoperitoneum presenting as an out of hospital cardiac arrest: A case report and review of the literature.

De Smet, Roel; De Paepe, Peter; Buylaert, Walter; Hachimi Idrissi, Said

doi:10.1080/17843286.2015.1105611

Cardiac arrest & resuscitation

Spontaneous tension pneumoperitoneum presenting as an out of hospital cardiac arrest: A case report and review of the literature.

Roel De Smet, Peter De Paepe, Walter Buylaert, Said Hachimi Idrissi

Acta clinica Belgica · 2016-05-04 · Case report

Read at publisher · PubMed

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: It is known that tension pneumoperitoneum (TPP) can lead to cardiopulmonary arrest but it does not figure in the advanced life support algorithms. Therefore we discuss a case of TPP together with the literature review of its aetiology and treatment. PATIENT: We describe an out of hospital cardiac arrest due to a spontaneous TPP secondary to a perforated duodenal ulcer. CONCLUSION: Emergency personnel should consider the possibility of TPP in a patient with a distended abdomen and a cardiac arrest, even in the absence of known traumatic and iatrogenic causes for TPP. We believe that TPP should be added as a reversible cause for pulseless electrical activity in the resuscitation guidelines.