Changes over Time in Intracranial Air in Patients with Cerebral Air Embolism: Radiological Study in Two Cases

Figure 3

An 82-year-old woman (case 2). (a) Brain CT performed 30 min after notice of her consciousness decrease, that is, 60 min after the estimated onset of CAE, shows air inflow in the cortical veins (arrow) and bilateral cerebral hemispheres (arrow heads). (b) Brain CT obtained 50 min after the first CT scan. The air densities (arrow heads) were diminished. (c) Brain CT obtained 18 hr after the first CT scan. The air densities had completely disappeared. (d) DWI performed one week after onset showing multiple areas of restricted diffusion affecting primarily the cortical areas in the bilateral hemispheres adjacent to air bubbles.

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