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Blunt chest trauma

2004; Elsevier BV; Volume: 41; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.cpsurg.2003.12.004

1535-6337

Riyad Karmy-Jones, Gregory J. Jurkovich,

Cardiac Arrest and Resuscitation

Sternal fractures caused by blunt chest trauma are associated with an increased incidence of cardiac injury. Reports of the incidence of cardiac injury associated with sternal fracture range from 18% to 62%. Delayed cardiac tamponade is a rare phenomenon that appears days or weeks after injury. Moreover, after nonpenetrating chest trauma, cardiac tamponade is very rare and occurs in less than 1 of 1000. To date, we read with great interest an article by Dr. S. Vanwynsberghe and colleagues for sharing their first case report of perforation of the right cardiac ventricle due to direct mechanical effect of the sharp, bony sternal fragment as a late complication of a displaced sternal fracture following blunt trauma, which occurred 5 days after blunt chest trauma. Fortunately, the patient recovered after aggressive surgical intervention and critical care.