Noncardiogenic pulmonary edema following accidental near-hanging

Trujillo, Maximo H.; Fragachan, Carlos F.; Tortoledo, Francisco

doi:10.1016/j.hrtlng.2006.10.005

« Previous Next »Heart & Lung: The Journal of Acute and Critical Care
Volume 36, Issue 5 , Pages 364-366, September 2007

Noncardiogenic pulmonary edema following accidental near-hanging

Maximo H. Trujillo, MD, FACP, FCCP
- Critical Care Unit of The Instituto Medico La Floresta, Caracas, DC, Venezuela
- Critical Care Unit of The University Hospital of Caracas, Caracas, Venezuela, and Laboratory of Interventional Cardiology, Caracas DF, Venezuela.
- Reprint requests: Maximo H. Trujillo, MD, CCS 1515, PO Box 025323, Miami, FL 33102-5323.
Carlos F. Fragachan, MD
- Critical Care Unit of The Instituto Medico La Floresta, Caracas, DC, Venezuela
- Critical Care Unit of The University Hospital of Caracas, Caracas, Venezuela, and Laboratory of Interventional Cardiology, Caracas DF, Venezuela.
Francisco Tortoledo, MD, FSCI
- Critical Care Unit of The Instituto Medico La Floresta, Caracas, DC, Venezuela
- Critical Care Unit of The University Hospital of Caracas, Caracas, Venezuela, and Laboratory of Interventional Cardiology, Caracas DF, Venezuela.

A 79 year-old woman was admitted to our institution unconscious with pulmonary edema. She had been trapped by the neck in the electric sliding gate of her own home garage. A pulmonary artery catheter was inserted through the right internal jugular vein and her hemodynamic profile and chest x ray revealed a non cardiogenic pulmonary edema. Intensive care management consisted of assisted/controlled ventilatory support with low grade of PEEP (6 cm H2O) and loop diuretics. Three days later, the chest x-ray showed resolution of the pulmonary edema and she made a full recovery.

Near-hanging due to neck compression can be a life-threatening cause of non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema, and should be included in the differential diagnosis of pulmonary edema.