Air embolism after prolonged cardiopulmonary resuscitation in a preterm infant

Systemic air embolism develops in newborns mostly secondary to idiopathic air infusion, necrotizing enterocolitis and pulmonary air leak syndromes. A girl infant weighing 1355 g was born at gestational of 28 weeks. She developed apnea and cardiopulmonary arrest secondary to clinical sepsis at postnatal day 9. On radiography and ultrasonography of the premature infant following cardiopulmonary resuscitation for 30 minutes, air was detected in the cranial, systemic and pulmonary vascularity. At long-term followed up of the patient with return of spontaneous circulation with resuscitation, cortical cystic leukomalacia and necrotizing enterocolitis developed secondary to air embolism. The patient intubated was lost at the day 180 of her life. In this case report, we presented a preterm infant who developed systemic air embolism due to prolonged resuscitation