Cerebral Fat Embolism in a Trauma Patient with Captured Imaging of Echogenic Emboli in the Inferior Vena Cava

Authors: Nancy N. Wang, Nikhil Panda, Jeong S. Hyun, David Barounis, Thomas G. Weiser

Abstract:

The authors present a case of fat embolism syndrome after traumatic long-bone fracture in a patient with rapid neurologic deterioration and multiple cerebral embolic events. Diagnostic workup revealed the neuroradiologic findings classically described with cerebral fat emboli. The authors present hallmark ultrasound imaging of echogenic material actively traveling through the inferior vena cava.

Keywords

cerebral fat embolism; fat embolism syndrome; long-bone trauma; ultrasound imaging.

Citation: Nancy N. Wang, Nikhil Panda, Jeong S. Hyun, David Barounis, Thomas G. Weiser Cerebral Fat Embolism in a Trauma Patient with Captured Imaging of Echogenic Emboli in the Inferior Vena Cava http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jmu.2016.08.006

Received: 3 June 2016, Accepted: 12 August 2016, Available online: 15 October 2016

Copyright: © 2016 Elsevier Taiwan LLC and the Chinese Taipei Society of Ultrasound in Medicine. This is
an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).