Case Report
Open Access Peer-reviewed

A Case of Cardiac Arrest Soon after Receiving a Sting from a Wasp

Ryota Nishio1, Ken-ichi Muramatsu1, Hiroki Nagasawa1, Ikuto Takeuchi1, Kei Jitsuiki1, Youichi Yanagawa1,

1Department of Acute Critical Care Medicine, Shizuoka Hospital, Juntendo University

American Journal of Medical Case Reports. 2020, 8(12), 491-493. DOI: 10.12691/ajmcr-8-12-16
Received August 09, 2020; Revised September 08, 2020; Accepted September 17, 2020

Abstract

While felling trees along a national roadside in a remote area, a 38-year-old man suddenly cried out that he had been stung by a wasp on his left hand. His colleague came over to him, and he fell unconscious, so his colleague called an ambulance. When emergency technicians found him, he was in cardiopulmonary arrest. His initial rhythm was asystole. He receive advanced cardiac life support but was unable to obtain return of spontaneous circulation, possibly due to his anaphylactic shock and complication with Kounis syndrome resulting in a low cardiac output, as he showed temporal complete bundle branch block with tachycardia PEA, repeated ventricular fibrillation, and elevated cardiac enzymes. The presence of a sting mark may also have been a sign of his severe state and complication of Kounis syndrome. The establishment of a new framework, such as permitting non-medical staff to inject adrenaline into patients with anaphylaxis, might be required.

Keywords:

anaphylaxis, Kounis syndrome, sting mark, adrenaline
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