REBOA-Assisted Resuscitation in Non-Traumatic Cardiac Arrest due to Massive Pulmonary Embolism: A Case Report with Physiological and Practical Reflections

Abstract

We present the case of a 36-year old woman who suffered a non-traumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The resuscitation attempt included the use of a resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) catheter which resulted in a return of spontaneous circulation and distinct improvements in arterial blood pressure, end-tidal CO2 and cerebral oximetry values. This suggests that the use of REBOA may improve the rate of both survival and favorable neurologic outcome and warrants further study.