Rupture of the lesser gastric curvature after a Heimlich maneuver

London ambulance source data on choking incidence for the calendar year 2016: an observational study

Introduction

Complete foreign body airway obstruction is a life-threatening emergency, but there are limited data on its epidemiology.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective analysis of data collected routinely from London Ambulance Service calls coded as being for choking was undertaken for the calendar year of 2016.

Results

There were 1916 choking episodes of significant severity to call for emergency assessment in London during 2016, 0.2% of total calls requiring an ambulance response, an average of 5.2 per day. The incidence increased at the extremes of age. Calls coded as choking occurred at times consistent with lunch and dinner and less frequently at breakfast. Peak incidence occurred at Sunday lunchtimes and on Wednesday evenings.

Conclusions

Choking is a substantial health problem for Londoners to seek emergency assistance. Choking is more frequent at the extremes of age with a higher incidence at lunch and dinner time. Greater public awareness of choking and its management could help to prevent avoidable deaths.

Thoracocervicofacial Emphysema after Heimlich's Maneuvre

We report an extremely rare example of a thoracocervicofacial subcutaneous emphysema after Heimlich maneuver case.

Rotura gástrica y neumoperitoneo masivo tras resucitación cardiopulmonar por personal no sanitario

Iatrogenic gastric rupture is a rarely reported complication of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Rupture can occur during chest compressions or imperfect ventilation. We present the case of 1 patient with a tension pneumoperitoneum after cardiopulmonary resuscitation by lay persons.