Background: Gas gangrene is usually manifested as myonecrosis and subcutaneous gas accumulation, but rarely manifested as arterial occlusion or pneumatosis in the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery.
Case presentation: We report a case of gas gangrene caused by Clostridium septicum. The patient developed gas gangrene after being pecked by a chicken but turned for the better following antibiotic treatment and debriment. Imaging test revealed a rare occlusion of the right femoral artery and pneumatosis in the right ventricle and the main pulmonary artery.
Conclusions: In the presence of gas gangrene, special care must be taken to prevent against the formation of circulatory air embolism. The gas gangrene-induced gangrene in the limb of this patient might be attributed to the combined action of infection and arterial occlusion. MDT (Multidisciplinary team)-Green Channel mode is conductive to treatment success of gas gangrene.
Keywords: Air embolism; Artery occlusion; Case report; Clostridium septicum; Gas gangrene.
© 2021. The Author(s).