Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Crit Care Med. Mar 9, 2025; 14(1): 97443
Published online Mar 9, 2025. doi: 10.5492/wjccm.v14.i1.97443
Thrombolysis and extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation for cardiac arrest due to pulmonary embolism: A case report
Guan-Xing Yuan, Zhi-Ping Zhang, Jia Zhou
Guan-Xing Yuan, Zhi-Ping Zhang, Department of Emergency, Wuhan Asia General Hospital, Wuhan 430056, Hubei Province, China
Jia Zhou, Department of Neurosurgery, Central Theater Command General Hospital, Wuhan 430000, Hubei Province, China
Author contributions: Yuan GX, Zhang ZP, and Zhou J contributed to the conceptualization of this case report; Yuan GX and Zhang ZP were involved in the writing and preparation of the original draft; Zhou J contributed to the reviewing and editing of the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript
Supported by Scientific Research Projects from Wuhan Municipal Health Commission of China, No.WX23B42.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for the publication of this case report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016) guidelines.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Zhi-Ping Zhang, MD, Chief Doctor, Department of Emergency, Wuhan Asia General Hospital, No. 300 TaZi Hu North Road, Economic and Technological Development Zone, Wuhan 430056, Hubei Province, China. blyynk@hotmail.com
Received: May 30, 2024
Revised: October 6, 2024
Accepted: November 20, 2024
Published online: March 9, 2025
Processing time: 195 Days and 2.1 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: This case study evaluates the feasibility of combining systemic thrombolysis with extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation for refractory cardiac arrest due to acute pulmonary embolism. Despite hemodynamic and contractility improvements post-treatment with tissue plasminogen activator, the patient succumbed to intracerebral hemorrhagic complications. It underscores the potential of this combined approach but highlights the increased risk of severe bleeding, including fatal intracranial hemorrhage.