Spontaneous tension pneumoperitoneum presenting as an out of hospital cardiac arrest: A case report and review of the literature.

OBJECTIVES

It is known that tension pneumoperitoneum (TPP) can lead to cardiopulmonary arrest but it does not figure in the advanced life support algorithms. Therefore we discuss a case of TPP together with the literature review of its aetiology and treatment.

PATIENT: We describe an out of hospital cardiac arrest due to a spontaneous TPP secondary to a perforated duodenal ulcer.

CONCLUSION

Emergency personnel should consider the possibility of TPP in a patient with a distended abdomen and a cardiac arrest, even in the absence of known traumatic and iatrogenic causes for TPP. We believe that TPP should be added as a reversible cause for pulseless electrical activity in the resuscitation guidelines.