It could cause a rare but potentially life-threatening complication called a venous air embolism.
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Although very rare, improperly inserted IVs can create a stroke-causing air embolism or cause the fluids to leak into nearby tissue.
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They are also more likely to cause a massive air embolism and require constant, close supervision by the perfusionist.
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For venous air embolism the Trendelenburg or left lateral positioning of a patient with an air-lock obstruction of the right ventricle may move the air bubble in the ventricle and allow blood flow under the bubble.Raskin JM, Benjamine E, Iberti TJ. (1985)Venous air embolism: Case report and review. Mt Sinai J Med. 1985;52:367. Hyperbaric therapy with 100% oxygen is recommended for patients presenting clinical features of arterial air embolism, as it accelerates removal of nitrogen from the bubbles by solution and improves tissue oxygenation.
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It can also be injected into the blood, where air absolutely cannot due to the risk of an air embolism.
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Or the patient may suffer a pulmonary air embolism and subsequently die. Penetrating lung injuries can be treated with a formal lung resection or with pulmonary tractotomy.
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Thus reducing the chances of an air embolism. In accordance with Guidelines set by the American Association of Blood Banks the blood should be reinfused within 4 hours from washing.
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Direct injection air embolism was one of the methods used by Belgian murderer Ivo Poppe to kill some of his victims (the other method being valium). Dorothy L. Sayers made use of direct injection air embolism as a murder method in her 1927 Lord Peter Wimsey mystery novel Unnatural Death (published in the USA in 1928 as The Dawson Pedigree), although her description was subsequently criticised as implausible on account of the injection site and volume.
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However, "forcing" or purposely blowing air at force into the vaginal cavity can cause an air embolism, which in very rare cases can be dangerous for the woman, and if pregnant, for the fetus.
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Additional hazards are uncontrolled flow causing an overdose, uncontrolled lack of flow, causing an underdose, reverse flow, which can siphon blood from a patient, and air in the line, which can cause an air embolism.
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Tools like multislice helical computed tomography can be used for detailed documentation of injuries, tissue damage and complications like air embolism and pulmonary aspiration of blood. This type of digital autopsies offer certain advantages when compared to traditional autopsies.
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Journal of Trauma 1996: 40:320–322. Additionally, there is at least one report of manual resuscitator use where the lungs were accidentally over- inflated to the point where "the heart contained a large volume of air," and the "aorta and pulmonary arteries were filled with air" – a condition called an air embolism which "is almost uniformly fatal". However, the case was of a 95-year-old woman, as the authors point out that this type of complication has previously only been reported in premature infants.Kane G, Hewines B, Grannis FW Jr. Massive air embolism in an adult following positive pressure ventilation.
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In the 1950s an apartment in the street served as the workplace of backstreet abortionist Mamie Cadden (1891-1959). The death of one of her patients from an air embolism in the heart in 1951, whose body Cadden left outside on the street, did not put an end to her activities as there was not sufficient evidence to connect her to the death. Five years later one of her patients, Helen O'Reilly, died of an air embolism during a procedure to abort a fetus in the fifth month. When her body was found on the pavement in Hume Street, Cadden was arrested and tried for murder.
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The complications of awake craniotomy are similar to complications from brain surgery done under general anesthesia – seizures during the operation, nausea, vomiting, loss of motor or speech function, hemodynamic instability (hypertension, hypotension, or tachycardia), cerebral edema, hemorrhage, stroke or air embolism, and death. Seizures are the most common complication.
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In terms of the epidemiology of air embolisms one finds that the intra-operative period to have the highest incidence. For example, VAE in neurological cases ranges up to 80%, and OBGYN surgeries incidence can climb to 97% for VAE (vascular air embolism). In divers the incidence rate is 7/100,000 per dive.
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A fatal air embolism, when air enters the bloodstream, can occur due to sex shortly after childbirth before the placental bed has healed, particularly if the woman's knees are pressed against her chest, but this is rare. More common complications of having sex early after pregnancy are tears to incisions and infection of the uterus.
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Electrocution may be used for cattle, sheep, swine, foxes, and mink after the animals are unconscious, often by a prior electrical stun. Pithing (inserting a tool into the base of the brain) is usable on animals already unconscious. Slow or rapid freezing, or inducing air embolism are acceptable only with prior anesthesia to induce unconsciousness.
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Small amounts of air often get into the blood circulation accidentally during surgery and other medical procedures (for example, a bubble entering an intravenous fluid line), but most of these air emboli enter the veins and are stopped at the lungs, and thus a venous air embolism that shows any symptoms is very rare.
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With the advances in all fields of surgery, new companies developed autotransfusion devices. Problems still arose, however, with air embolism, coagulopathy, and hemolysis.Nicholson E, 1988, Autolgous blood transfusion, Nurs Times, 13-19; 84(2):33-5 Jan 1988 The devices used during the Korean and Vietnam War collected and provided gross filtration of blood before it was reinfused.
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There have been rare cases of air embolism being caused by air entering the bloodstream from the uterus or tears in female genitalia. The risk appears to be greater during pregnancy. Cases have been reported that resulted from attempts to perform an abortion by syringing. These appear to have been due to damage to the placenta allowing air to enter the bloodstream.
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This technique remains in use at , and is commonly referred to the loss of resistance to saline technique (LORS) or its variation, the loss of resistance to air technique (LORA). These use, respectively, saline or air to identify the epidural space. The LORS technique is generally favoured due to the increased complication risk with the LORA technique such as pneumocephalus or air embolism.
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Infection, phlebitis, extravasation, infiltration, air embolism, hemorrhage (bleeding) and formation of a hematoma (bruise) may occur. Because of the risk of insertion-site infection the CDC advises in their guideline that the catheter needs to be replaced every 96 hours. However, the need to replace these catheters routinely is debated. Expert management has been shown to reduce the complications of peripheral lines.
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Scrotal inflation Scrotal inflation, or scrotal infusion, is an unusual sexual practice in which fluid (typically saline solution, but sometimes air or another gas) is injected into the scrotum in order to make it balloon in size. It carries a number of risks of serious complications, including scrotal cellulitis and subcutaneous emphysema, and possibly fatal complications such as Fournier's gangrene or air embolism.
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Entry of air into venous circulation has the potential to cause a venous air embolism. This is a rare complication of CVC placement – however, it can be lethal. The volume and the rate of air entry determine the effect an air embolus will have on a patient. This process can become fatal when at least 200–300 milliliters of air is introduced within a few seconds.
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Symptoms of an acute stroke may also be seen. Echocardiography can be used to visualize air that has become trapped in the chambers of the heart. If a large air embolism is suspected, a syringe can be attached to the catheter cap and pulled pack in an attempt to remove the air from circulation. The patient can also be placed in the left lateral decubitus position.
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The day following the death, Tina's autopsy was performed by Professor David Williams, consultant forensic pathologist to the Queensland Coroner. Williams found florid evidence of air embolism, but no degenerative disease. He gave the cause of death as drowning. Due to the unexpected nature of Tina's death and the implausible and conflicting statements given by Watson, the death was investigated by the State Coroner's office.
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Cadden left the woman's body outside on the street. Even this did not put an end to her activities as there was not sufficient evidence to connect her. Five years later, one of her patients, Helen O'Reilly, died of an air embolism during a procedure to abort a pregnancy in the fifth month. When her body was found on the pavement in Hume Street, Cadden was arrested and tried for murder.
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Air can be injected directly into a vein or artery accidentally during clinical procedures. Misuse of a syringe to meticulously remove air from the vascular tubing of a hemodialysis circuit can allow air into the vascular system. Venous air embolism is a rare complication of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures requiring catheterization of a vein or artery. If a significant embolism occurs, the cardiovascular, pulmonary, or central nervous system may be affected.
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The mechanism from nematode infection to finally pine death is partially unknown now, but the outline has been recognized. The cause of pine death is stopping moving water in the timber. The phenomenon is caused by small bubbles, then air embolism of xylem tissue stops water movement.Kuroda, K.; Yamada, T.; Mineo, K.; Tamura, H. (1989)Effect of cavitation on the development of pine wilt disease caused by Bursaphelenchus xylophilus.
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While dying, Henry injects Adam with air, causing Adam to suffer an air embolism. Jo, who followed Henry to the tunnel, finds Henry's pocket watch while Abe watches Henry reappear in the river alive. Later, Jo arrives at the antiques shop with Henry's watch and the family photograph that Adam left at the scene. With Abe's encouragement, Henry invites Jo into the shop to hear a long story.
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British Medical Journal 285: 972 only.. Arterial occlusion may be due to thrombi, amniotic fragments or air embolism. Postpartum cerebral angiopathy is a transitory arterial spasm of medium caliber cerebral arteries; it was first described in cocaine and amphetamine addicts, but can also complicate ergot and bromocriptine prescribed to inhibit lactation. Subarachnoid haemorrhage can occur after miscarriage or childbirth. All these usually present with neurological symptoms, and occasionally with delirium.
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Other factors cited include buoyancy control, entanglement or entrapment, rough water, equipment misuse or problems and emergency ascent. The most common injuries and causes of death were drowning or asphyxia due to inhalation of water, air embolism and cardiac events. Risk of cardiac arrest is greater for older divers, and greater for men than women, although the risks are equal by age 65. Several plausible opinions have been put forward but have not yet been empirically validated.
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Juni 2013 (PDF; 1,7 MB). Further deployments were off Eckernförde at 9 m depth, off Helgoland again in 1973 in 23 m depth, in Lübeck Bay in 1974 in 15 m depth, off Rockport in 1975 in 33 m depth and from 1975 to 1981 in Lübeck Bay between 11 and 15 m depth. On September 25, 1975, German aquanaut Joachim Wendler died of an air embolism while returning to the surface of the Gulf of Maine from Helgoland.
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At the hospital, Dussander hears a group of Neo-Nazis demonstrating outside the hospital; realizing his identity has been hopelessly compromised, he commits suicide by giving himself an air embolism. When French learns that the man who met Todd at school was not Todd's grandfather but a war criminal, he confronts Todd, who then blackmails French into silence by threatening to accuse him of making inappropriate sexual advances towards him (Todd) and to thereby expose French publicly as a homosexual and pederast.
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An air embolism, also known as a gas embolism, is a blood vessel blockage caused by one or more bubbles of air or other gas in the circulatory system. Air embolisms may also occur in the xylem of vascular plants, especially when suffering from water stress. Air can be introduced into the circulation during surgical procedures, lung over-expansion injury, decompression, and a few other causes. Divers can suffer from arterial gas embolisms as a consequence of lung over-expansion injury.
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Hyperbaric medicine includes hyperbaric oxygen treatment, which is the medical use of oxygen at greater than atmospheric pressure to increase the availability of oxygen in the body; and therapeutic recompression, which involves increasing the ambient pressure on a person, usually a diver, to treat decompression sickness or an air embolism by eliminating bubbles that have formed within the body. Research found evidence that HBOT improves local tumour control, mortality, and local tumour recurrence for cancers of the head and neck.
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The reinfusion bag attached to the autotransfusion wash set should not be used for high pressure infusion back to the patient. The reinfusion bag contains a significant amount of air, careful monitoring should take place during reinfusion to avoid the potential of air embolism. Therefore, it is recommended to use a separate blood bag attached to the reinfusion bag. This second bag can then be disconnected, air purged from it, and then tied off before giving to anesthesia for reinfusion.
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The supersaturation of nitrogen in the body tissues is causing an unbalanced gas saturation in blood vessels and organs. The main concern with this disease in particular is when it develops and transforms into air embolism, which causes severe blockades in the lung and in the blood vessels, which is especially dangerous in arteries. Expanding gases can rupture the small air-cavities located in the lungs (alveoli), thus causing pulmonary barotrauma which can ultimately lead to death due to pulmonary failure.
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The most common injuries and causes of death were drowning or asphyxia due to inhalation of water, air embolism and cardiac events. Risk of cardiac arrest is greater for older divers, and greater for men than women, although the risks are equal by age 65. Several plausible opinions have been put forward but have not yet been empirically validated. Suggested contributing factors included inexperience, infrequent diving, inadequate supervision, insufficient predive briefings, buddy separation and dive conditions beyond the diver's training, experience or physical capacity.
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The consequences of this include: acute embolic stroke (from air that passes through a patent foramen ovale), pulmonary edema, and acute right heart failure (from trapped air in the right ventricle) which can lead to cardiogenic shock. The clinical presentation of a venous air embolism may be silent. In those who are symptomatic, the most common symptoms are sudden- onset shortness of breath and cough. If the presentation is severe, the patient may become rapidly hypotensive and have an altered level of consciousness due to cardiogenic shock.
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The main adverse events related to this procedure are pericardial effusion, incomplete LAA closure, dislodgement of the device, blood clot formation on the device requiring prolonged oral anticoagulation, and the general risks of catheter-based techniques (such as air embolism). The left atrium anatomy can also preclude use of the device in some patients. Theoretical concerns surround the role of the LAA in thirst regulation and water retention because it is an important source of atrial natriuretic factor. Preserving the right atrial appendage might attenuate this effect.
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The left lateral decubitus position also prevents the air from passing through a potentially patent foramen ovale (present in as many as 30% of adults) and entering the left ventricle, from which it could then embolise to distal arteries (potentially causing occlusive symptoms such as stroke).Brunicardi, F. Schwartz's Principles of Surgery, 9th Ed, McGraw Hill, 2009. p. 144 Administration of high percentage oxygen is recommended for both venous and arterial air embolism. This is intended to counteract ischaemia and accelerate bubble size reduction.
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Where the triggering event is known, it is most commonly a shortage of breathing gas, followed by buoyancy problems. Air embolism is also frequently cited as a cause of death, often as a consequence of other factors leading to an uncontrolled and badly managed ascent, occasionally aggravated by medical conditions. About a quarter of diving fatalities are associated with cardiac events, mostly in older divers. There is a fairly large body of data on diving fatalities, but in many cases the data are poor due to the standard of investigation and reporting.
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The pursestrings sutures are cinched around the cannula using a tourniquet and secured to the cannula. At this point, the perfusionist advances the arterial line of the CPB circuit and the surgeon connects the arterial line coming from the patient to the arterial line coming from the CPB machine. Care must be taken to ensure no air is in the circuit when the two are connected, or else the patient could suffer from an air embolism. Other sites for arterial cannulation include the axillary artery, brachiocephalic artery, or femoral artery.
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Ratiu et al. and Van Horn et al. both concluded that the tamping iron passed left of the superior sagittal sinus and left it intact, both because Harlow does not mention loss of cerebrospinal fluid through the nose, and because otherwise Gage would almost certainly have suffered fatal blood loss or air embolism. Harlow's moderate (in the context of medical practice of the time) use of emetics, purgatives, and (in one instance) bleeding would have "produced dehydration with reduction of intracranial pressure [which] may have favorably influenced the outcome of the case", according to Steegmann.
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Despite denying the charges, she was convicted of procuring an abortion and was sentenced to penal servitude in Mountjoy Prison for five years. Having served her full term she resumed her former trade on her release, this time in Hume Street, near Dublin's fashionable St Stephen's Green. Operating out of a one-roomed flat, she was able to continue her illegal business and was still well-known enough in Dublin not to need to advertise. One of her clients died from an air embolism in the heart in 1951.
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2001 Dec; 72(6):1887-91. Since the average life expectancy of patients after lung transplantation is as low as 30% at 5 years, patients with reasonable functional status related to Eisenmenger syndrome have improved survival with conservative medical care compared with transplantation. Various medicines and therapies for pulmonary hypertension are under investigation for treatment of the symptoms. Air filters for intravenous lines are recommended for persons with Eisenmenger's syndrome who have been hospitalized to reduce the risk of accidental introduction of air into the veins due to the increased risk for paradoxical air embolism.
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When alone, Maureen quietly reveals to Suzanne that the stroke had been caused by an air embolism which she herself induced by blowing oxygen bubbles into his IV tube. Humphrey initially survives the stroke but is rendered mute and partially paralyzed. He ultimately dies of his injuries, and his body is discovered abandoned in a broom closet by CERT members when the prison is stormed in the fifth-season finale. Daya subsequently accepts a plea deal for his murder in return for life imprisonment, rather than risk facing the death penalty.
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Autologous Blood Transfusion Education Program, Training Manual, Shiley Incorporated, Irvine CA, 1992 With the introduction of cardiopulmonary bypass in 1952, autotransfusion became an area of study. Klebanoff began a new era of autotransfusion by developing the first commercially available autotransfusion unit in 1968. His system, the Bentley Autotransfusion System aspirated, collected, filtered and reinfused autologous whole blood shed from the operative field. The problems with the Bentley system included the requirement of systemic anticoagulation of the patient, introduction of air embolism, and renal failure resulting from unfiltered particulate in the reinfused blood.
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In February 2010 BD announced a voluntary product recall of certain lots of BD Q-Syte Luer Access Devices and BD Nexiva Closed IV Catheter Systems. BD stated that the use of the affected devices may cause an air embolism or leakage of blood and/or therapy, which may result in serious injury or death. The approximately 2.8 million BD Q-Syte and 2.9 million BD Nexiva units containing 5 million BD Q-Syte devices that were recalled were distributed in the United States, Asia, Canada, Europe, Mexico, the Middle East, South Africa, and South America. The recall was initiated on Oct.
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Such bubbles are responsible for the most serious of gas embolic symptoms. Venous or pulmonary air embolism occurs when air enters the systemic veins and is transported to the right side of the heart and from there into the pulmonary arteries, where it may lodge, blocking or reducing blood flow. Gas in the venous circulation can cause cardiac problems by obstructing the pulmonary circulation or forming an air-lock which raises central venous pressure and reduces pulmonary and systemic arterial pressures. Experiments on animals show that the amount of gas necessary for this to happen is quite variable.
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This causes him to have an air embolism, which resulted in a stroke which ultimately kills him. Later on, Suzanne takes Maureen out of bed and helps her to the cafeteria to join the other rioters, and the two organize a seance at the site of Poussey's death. At the end of the fifth season, when Suzanne is starting to have a meltdown owing to not taking her medication, she finds Maureen almost unconscious in the bathroom. Her condition has deteriorated due to an infection and the lack of medical attention and she is taken back to her bed in medical.
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As for the episode's storyline, she felt that the revenge storyline was more interesting than the possible revelation of Henry's immortality. Although they thought that the scene where the victim's friend was dying was disgusting and that Henry giving Adam the air embolism was cruel, Kate Aquillano, Marielou Mandle, and Pegah Rad of AfterBuzz TV generally liked the episode. Fans also liked the episode's ending. The episode's cliffhanger, Henry's possible revelation of his immortality to Jo, placed third in Entertainment Weeklys 2015 TV Season Finale Awards in the online poll's "Best Non-Romantic Cliffhanger" category; it received 14.92% of Entertainment Weekly readers' votes.
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Steve Lewis, an experienced cave diver, wreck diver and member of The Explorers Club, led a team that photographed and assessed the Bell Island mine for "condition, safety and feasibility" of future research in 2006. On February 4, 2007, expedition member Joseph T. Steffen died of an air embolism during a dive into the mine. The project continued despite the loss of this explorer and team members managed to lay approximately two kilometers of line and document many of the mine's artifacts. Their report also provided the Bell Island Heritage Society with important information on artifacts left when mining operations ended in 1966.
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Scuba divers should not drown unless there are other contributory factors as they carry a supply of breathing gas and equipment designed to provide the gas on demand. Drowning occurs as a consequence of preceding problems such as unmanageable stress, cardiac disease, pulmonary barotrauma, unconsciousness from any cause, water aspiration, trauma, environmental hazards, equipment difficulties, inappropriate response to an emergency or failure to manage the gas supply. and often obscures the real cause of death. Air embolism is also frequently cited as a cause of death, and it, too is the consequence of other factors leading to an uncontrolled and badly managed ascent, possibly aggravated by medical conditions.
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Complications are not common but include infection, lung abscess, and bronchopleural fistula (a fistula between the pleural space and the bronchial tree). A bronchopleural fistula results when there is a communication between the laceration, a bronchiole, and the pleura; it can cause air to leak into the pleural space despite the placement of a chest tube. The laceration can also enlarge, as may occur when the injury creates a valve that allows air to enter the laceration, progressively expanding it. One complication, air embolism, in which air enters the bloodstream, is potentially fatal, especially when it occurs on the left side of the heart.
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Drip chambers at the bottom of each of two IV bags A drip chamber is a device used to allow gas (such as air) to rise out from a fluid so that it is not passed downstream. It is commonly employed in delivery systems of intravenous therapy and acts to prevent air embolism. The use of a drip chamber also allows an estimate of the rate at which fluid is administered. For a fluid of a given viscosity, drips from a hole of known size will be of nearly identical volume, and the number of drips in a minute can be counted to gauge the rate of flow.
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Fisting can cause laceration or perforation of the vagina, perineum, rectum, or colon, resulting in serious injury and even death. In addition, sexual activities that cause air to enter the vagina can lead to a fatal air embolism, and the risk is probably even higher during pregnancy. Anal fisting being performed on a man Anal fisting carries risks of colorectal perforation; participants are advised to use latex gloves and lubricant, and designate a safeword, the utterance of which will call an immediate halt to the activity. The practice, along with the insertion of hard objects into the anus, has been significantly related to the traumatization of the rectal mucosa in increasing the likelihood of infection, including Hepatitis B.
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Fearing police will find and question Marc, Simon sends Cathy into the clinic dressed as a nurse to give the dying man a fatal air embolism after an attempt to take him away fails. Simon's next project is to steal a large quantity of heroin being transported out of France by a rival gang on the night express from Paris to Lisbon. From a helicopter, he is lowered onto the speeding train in the empty countryside south of Bordeaux, knocks out the courier with chloroform, and is successfully winched up with the drugs. Coleman, knowing the dead Marc was friends with Louis Costa, arrests him and gets him to confess the names of his accomplices.
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Air embolism can occur whenever a blood vessel is open and a pressure gradient exists favoring entry of gas. Because the circulatory pressure in most arteries and veins is greater than atmospheric pressure, an air embolus does not often happen when a blood vessel is injured. In the veins above the heart, such as in the head and neck, the venous pressure may be less than atmospheric and an injury may let air in. This is one reason why surgeons must be particularly careful when operating on the brain, and why the head of the bed is tilted down when inserting or removing a central venous catheter from the jugular or subclavian veins.
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The season finale would then serve as the revenge episode. For the method of revenge, Miller and Fedak decided against using the idea that an immortal can permanently die by being killed with the same weapon twice as the question of the permanence of Henry's immortality was a series-long story arc. Instead, they researched possible alternatives and decided that an air embolism to the brainstem which would paralyze Adam but keep him aware of his surroundings would serve as the best method of revenge. To increase the emotional stakes, Miller and Fedak wrote the scenes of Adam shooting Henry in a way that suggested that it could be Henry's final death.
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On February 4, 2015 it was revealed that during the recording of their main TV show 3B Junior Stardust Shoji, on January 28, a 12-year-old member (name withheld) of 3B Junior suffered from an air embolism. She lost consciousness and fell into a coma ( which was a result of the air bubbles blocking the flow of blood to the brain), which was a result of inhaling huge quantities of helium as part of a game. The incident was not made public until a week later. The staff of TV Asahi held an emergency press conference in order to announce that the member had been taken to hospital and, though she had not yet recovered consciousness, was showing signs of rehabilitation such as eye movement and mobility of her limbs.
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The therapeutic consequences of HBOT and recompression result from multiple effects. The increased overall pressure is of therapeutic value in the treatment of decompression sickness and air embolism as it provides a physical means of reducing the volume of inert gas bubbles within the body; Exposure to this increased pressure is maintained for a period long enough to ensure that most of the bubble gas is dissolved back into the tissues, removed by perfusion and eliminated in the lungs. The improved concentration gradient for inert gas elimination (oxygen window) by using a high partial pressure of oxygen increases the rate of inert gas elimination in the treatment of decompression sickness. For many other conditions, the therapeutic principle of HBOT lies in its ability to drastically increase partial pressure of oxygen in the tissues of the body.
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The most direct and well publicised hazard is lung overpressure due to either a failure on the part of the diver to allow the expanding air in the lungs to escape harmlessly, or entrapment of air due to circumstances beyond the control of the diver. Lung overpressure can lead to fatal or disabling injury, and can occur during training exercises, even when reasonable precautions have been taken. There is some evidence that a full exhalation at the start of the ascent in the "blow and go" scenario, can lead to partial collapse of some of the smaller air passages, and that these can then trap air during the ascent sufficiently to cause tissue rupture and air embolism. The procedure of slowly letting the air escape during ascent can also be taken too far, and not allow the air to escape fast enough, with similar consequences.
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A resuscitative thoracotomy is indicated when severe injuries within the thoracic cavity (such as hemorrhage) prevent the physiologic functions needed to sustain life. The injury may also affect a specific organ such as the heart, which can develop an air embolism or a cardiac tamponade (which prevents the heart from beating properly). Other indications for the use of this procedure would be the appearance of blood from a thoracostomy tube placed that returns more than 1000-1500 mL of blood, or ≥200 mL of blood per hour. For resuscitative thoracotomy to be indicated, signs of life must also be present, including cardiac electrical activity and a systolic blood pressure >70 mm Hg. In blunt trauma, if signs of life, such as eye dilatation, are found en route to the hospital by first responders, but not found when the patient arrives, then further resuscitative interventions are contraindicated; however; when first responders find signs of life and cardiopulmonary resuscitation time is under 15 minutes, the procedure is indicated.
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