Post-cardiac injury syndrome due to iatrogenic injury successfully managed medically: a case report

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery perforation is a rare but serious complication of percutaneous coronary interventions, that may eventually lead to major and fatal events such as myocardial infarction, cardiac tamponade, and ultimately death. The risk of coronary artery perforation is more significant during complex procedures as chronic total occlusions but it can occur in other circumstances such as oversized stents and/or balloons, excessive post-dilatation, and the use of hydrophilic wires. Coronary artery perforation is often not recognized during the procedure and the diagnosis is frequently not made until later when the patient develops signs related to pericardial effusion. Thus, causing a delay in management and worsening the prognosis. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of a distal coronary artery perforation secondary to using a hydrophilic guide in a young male patient of 52-year-old arab, initially presented with an ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, complicated by pericardial effusion that was treated medically with a favorable outcome. CONCLUSIONS: This work highlights that coronary artery perforation is a complication that must be anticipated in high-risk situations and its diagnosis must be made early to allow adequate management.