Life-threatening cardiac tamponade: A rare complication of acupuncture

Abstract

Acupuncture as an ancient Chinese treatment has proven effective and is utilized worldwide. Although it is generally believed to be a safe clinical procedure, serious lethal complications including death have been reported. We present a rare case of life-threatening cardiac tamponade due to penetration of an acupuncture needle directly into the right ventricle. © 2014 Chun et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.