Tear of long head of biceps following cardiopulmonary resuscitation: a rare complication

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is uncommon in routine practice of a paediatrician and injuries arising out of CPR are extremely rare especially in those involving children. A 41-year-old senior resident of paediatrics performed CPR on a young boy, following which he complained of pain in the left shoulder with restriction of all movements and flexion of the left elbow. MRI of the left shoulder revealed tear of the long head of biceps brachii, soft tissue oedema in left deltoid muscle and mild effusion in left glenohumeral joint with extension into subcapsularis bursa. He was treated conservatively with analgesics, following which there was significant improvement and full recovery of shoulder movements. Injuries to the resuscitator have been rarely reported in literature and mostly limited to adult CPR. We report this case to highlight an unusual complication to resuscitator transpiring from paediatric resuscitation.