Cardiovascular collapse due to right heart failure following ethanol sclerotherapy: a case report

• Main Authors: Jun Young Jo, Ji-Hyun Chin, Pyung Hwan Park, Seung Woo Ku
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korean Society of Anesthesiologists 2014-05-01
• Series: Korean Journal of Anesthesiology
• Subjects: ethanol; heart arrest; sclerotherapy
• Online Access: http://ekja.org/upload/pdf/kjae-66-388.pdf

Ethanol sclerotherapy for the treatment of low-flow vascular malformations can cause catastrophic cardiopulmonary complications, including pulmonary embolism and pulmonary hypertension, that can result in right heart failure and fatal arrhythmias, leading to death. We here report a case of abrupt cardiovascular collapse that developed immediately following ethanol sclerotherapy in 31-year-old female patient who had a large arteriovenous malformation in her leg. Anesthesiologists should be aware of the fatal cardiopulmonary complications that are associated with ethanol sclerotherapy and consider the use of invasive hemodynamic monitoring, such as pulmonary artery pressure monitoring, when large doses of ethanol are required.