Pneumopericardium: an unusual cause for cardiac arrest.

A 1-year-old boy breathing via a T-piece system and recovering from meningococcal septicaemia in the intensive care unit suffered a severe bout of coughing and developed bilateral pneumothoraces and tension pneumopericardium resulting in electromechanical dissociation and asystole. Conventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation and adrenaline boluses were unsuccessful. Administration of 20 ml.kg-1 of colloid and 3 mmol.kg-1 of sodium bicarbonate solutions produced instantaneous return of cardiac, output. The deleterious effects of cardiac tamponade appeared to decrease with increasing cardiac filling pressures. The patient was managed conservatively and he made a full recovery with no signs of residual neurological deficit.