This case emphasizes the high index of suspicion required for diagnosing potentially lethal pericardial rupture in patients presenting with postpericardial trauma syndrome after blunt chest injury.
High suspicion for pericardial rupture warranted in delayed post-trauma syndrome; single case leaves open need for diagnostic algorithms.
A 40-year-old man presented with a clinical picture of postpericardial trauma syndrome six weeks after blunt injury to the chest. Posttraumatic pericardial rupture was diagnosed at exploratory thoracotomy. The presence of aortic regurgitation due to a previously undiagnosed congenital sinus of Valsalva aneurysm complicated the clinical picture. To our knowledge this is the first report of postpericardial trauma syndrome associated with pericardial rupture after blunt chest injury. It emphasizes the high index of suspicion required for diagnosis of pericardial rupture, a condition with potentially lethal complications.
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Kyriakidis et al. (1986) studied this question.
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