Embolie gazeuse cérébrale rétrograde au cours d'une épuration extra-rénale

Air embolism is a rare but life-threatening adverse event concerning many invasive medical therapies. We report a case of an isolated cerebral venous air embolism occurring during a renal replacement therapy. The clinical course rapidly led to brain death. Converging arguments led us suspect a retrograde mechanism, with strong presumption blaming the dialysis circuit. Given the simply symptomatic treatment, the accent has been placed on quality management and preventives measures to avoid recurrence.