Prone cardiopulmonary resuscitation in elderly undergoing posterior spinal fusion with laminectomy

Abstract

An 80-year-old male patient presented with 2 weeks history of low back pain undergoing posterior spinal fusion with laminectomy in the prone position. The patient was induced with fentanyl, propofol, and rocuronium, and then he was positioned in the prone position. After 6 h of starting the surgery, the patient started to be hypotension and bradycardia followed by pulseless electrical activity (PEA). Code blue was activated intraoperatively with immediate initiation of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the prone position and multiple epinephrine boluses. Fortunately, the patient had return of spontaneous circulation. After stabilization, he was taken for computed tomography scan which showed massive pulmonary embolization and management was continued in the intensive care unit. CPR in the prone position has shown to be effective for return of spontaneous circulation after PEA.