FES - non-trauma

 Q: Name few non-orthopedic trauma causes of Fat Embolism Syndrome (FES)? 

 Answer: Although FES is usually associated with either accidental or surgical trauma to bones, there are few significant non-orthopedic trauma causes of FES. These include 

•  soft tissue injury 
•  burns 
• liposuction and lipo-injection 
•  fat grafting 
• cardiopulmonary resuscitation (mostly due to intraosseous access) 
•  cesarean section 
•  donor-related FES after lung transplantation
• osteomyelitis

Besides the above, there are also many completely non-traumatic clinical causes of FES.

• pancreatitis
• amniotic fluid embolism
• diabetes mellitus 
• prolonged steroid therapy 
• sickle cell hemoglobinopathies 
• fatty liver disease 
• Lipid infusion 
• cyclosporine solvent 
• intravenous lipid emulsion therapy
• intraoperative cell salvage 
• metastases from fatty tumors 

#trauma 

#surgical-critical-care

References:

1. Levine M, Skolnik AB, Ruha AM, et al. Complications following antidotal use of intravenous lipid emulsion therapy. J Med Toxicol 2014; 10:10.

2. Mendoza-Morales RC, Camberos-Nava EV, Luna-Rosas A, et al. A fatal case of systemic fat embolism resulting from gluteal injections of vitamin e for cosmetic enhancement. Forensic Sci Int 2016; 259:e1. 

3. Jacob S, Courtwright A, El-Chemaly S, et al. Donor-acquired fat embolism syndrome after lung transplantation. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2016; 49:1344. 

4. Schrufer-Poland T, Singh P, Jodicke C, et al. Nontraumatic Fat Embolism Found Following Maternal Death after Cesarean Delivery. AJP Rep 2015; 5:e1.