Gastric Perforation after Heimlich Maneuver
The Heimlich maneuver is life-saving in a patient choked by a foreign body.(1) However, rare complications have been reported following this maneuver, even when it was performed properly. Herein, we present a case of gastric perforation following a forceful Heimlich maneuver in a patient with nasopharyngeal cancer.
A 59-year-old woman suffered from airway obstruction while she was eating breakfast, with immediate loss of consciousness. She had a medical history of nasopharyngeal cancer and had undergone radiotherapy. She had subsequent impaired swallowing function and was easily choked. Upon arrival, an emergency medical technician (EMT) attempted the Heimlich maneuver several times in order to relieve the airway obstruction. The attempt failed, however, and the patient suffered sudden cardiac arrest. The EMT then started cardiopulmonary resuscitation immediately, and the patient was transported to our Emergency Department.
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— Chien-Ming Chao, MD, Chih-Cheng Lai, MD, Che-Kim Tan, MD
This article originally appeared in the June 2012 issue of the The American Journal of Medicine.
