Signs of massive intraoperative pulmonary embolism with extensive invasive monitoring.

Abstract

A 71-year-old patient suffered a massive pulmonary tumor embolism during removal of a renal carcinoma. He had extensive invasive monitoring, and the data were stored for later analysis. This shows that most of the known signs of pulmonary embolism were present in the tracings. It is discussed how none of them alone was sufficient for clinical diagnosis, but the comparison of several simultaneous variables together may be of great help. This report shows also the importance of the data-storing devices in the anesthesia monitors to make these comparisons possible in quickly changing emergency situations.