Fatal bilateral pneumothoraces after electroacupuncture treatment: A case report and literature review.
acupuncture
adverse events
autopsy
electroacupuncture
forensic pathology
gold thread
pneumothoraces
postmortem computed tomography
Journal
Journal of forensic sciences
ISSN: 1556-4029
Titre abrégé: J Forensic Sci
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 0375370
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
Jan 2022
Jan 2022
Historique:
revised:
09
08
2021
received:
16
06
2021
accepted:
11
08
2021
pubmed:
27
8
2021
medline:
19
3
2022
entrez:
26
8
2021
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Acupuncture is practiced as a complementary medicine worldwide. Although it is considered a safe practice, pneumothorax is one of its most common serious complications. However, there have been few reports of deaths due to pneumothorax after acupuncture treatment, especially focused on electroacupuncture. We report an autopsy case of a man in his 60s who went into cardiopulmonary arrest and died immediately after receiving electroacupuncture. Postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) showed bilateral pneumothoraces, as well as the presence of numerous gold threads embedded subcutaneously. An autopsy revealed two ecchymoses in the right thoracic cavity and a pinhole injury on the lower lobe of the right lung, suggesting that the needles had penetrated the lung. There were marked emphysematous changes in the lung, suggesting that rupture of bullae might also have contributed to bilateral pneumothoraces and fatal outcome. The acupuncture needles may have been drawn deeper into the body than at the time of insertion due to electrical pulses and muscle contraction, indicating the need for careful determination of treatment indications and technical safety measures, such as fail-safe mechanisms. This is the first case report of fatal bilateral pneumothoraces after electroacupuncture reported in the English literature. This case sheds light on the safety of electroacupuncture and the need for special care when administering it to patients with pulmonary disease who may be at a higher risk of pneumothorax. This is also the first report of three-dimensional reconstructed PMCT images showing the whole-body distribution of embedded gold acupuncture threads, which is unusual.
Identifiants
pubmed: 34435369
doi: 10.1111/1556-4029.14874
doi:
Substances chimiques
Gold
7440-57-5
Types de publication
Case Reports
Journal Article
Review
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
377-383Informations de copyright
© 2021 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.
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