Beau's Lines After Cardiac Arrest

Abstract

A 34-year-old man with uncontrolled hypertension suffered a ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest from an obstructive left anterior descending artery occlusion. He was defibrillated more than 10 times before achieving return of spontaneous circulation. He was comatose after his arrest and was treated with therapeutic hypothermia, and a bare metal stent was placed in his obstructed coronary artery with restoration of excellent postobstruction blood flow. His postarrest course was complicated by cardiogenic shock; prolonged ventilator-dependent respiratory failure requiring tracheostomy; tracheobronchitis, with cultures positive for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA); and an extended period of agitation and delirium. Thirty-four days after his arrest, his mental status started to improve rapidly. His delirium resolved, he became oriented and lucid, and he was able to be discharged to a rehabilitation facility on hospital day 41, with an excellent prognosis and close follow-up in primary care, cardiology, tracheostomy, and coumadin clinics. He returned to the emergency department 65 days later with the complaint of intermittent chest pain of 4 days' duration. Upon physical examination he was found to have Beau's lines on his fingernails. He was admitted to the hospital for a rule-out myocardial infarction workup, which was uneventful. He was discharged to home in good condition 2 days later.