Pulmonary Embolism Caused by Tourniquets in the Lower Extremities Treated with ECMO - A Case Report

Background: Using tourniquets in the lower extremities can increase the incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Acute large-area pulmonary embolism (APE) occurs in severe cases, and it is fatal to most patients. Acute large-area pulmonary embolism causes haemodynamic instability, right heart failure, and circulatory failure. jected to spinal anaesthesia for a comminuted fracture of the tibia and fibula of the left lower limb. After the tourniquet was released during the operation, she had sudden hypotension and lost consciousness. Thus, ECMO was used to support she was diagnosed to have a pulmonary embolism. On the next day, she was subjected to a bilateral pulmonary embolism and embolectomy. Lastly, she was transferred to the general ward and discharged smoothly. ther treatment of patients with high-risk APE. The pathogenetic condition of patients with acute large-area pulmonary embolism is dangerous. If a patient fails to receive timely diagnosis and treatment, he or she will lose the oppor-tunity for further treatment. As an effective cardiopulmonary support treatment, ECMO can provide effective circulatory support for patients with right heart failure, maintain systemic circulation perfusion, and save time for further diagnosis and treatment [Grant 2021]. In our case, ECMO combined with surgical pulmonary artery embolization was applied to treat a patient with large-area pulmonary embolism caused by tour-niquets used on the lower extremities successfully. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Informed consent was obtained from the patient and the hospital ethics committee.