Innocuous cardiac gunshot that proved fatal: A bitter lesson learned

The management of hemodynamically normal patients with retained intra-pericardial foreign body remains a matter of conjecture. The available literature supports non-operative management of such innocuous foreign bodies. We report our experience of a hemodynamically normal patient with a retained int...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Biplab Mishra, Mohit Kumar Joshi, Subodh Kumar, Atin Kumar, Amit Gupta, Amulya Rattan, Sushma Sagar, Maneesh Singhal, Mahesh Chandra Misra
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2017-04-01
Series:Chinese Journal of Traumatology
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1008127516301328
Description
Summary:The management of hemodynamically normal patients with retained intra-pericardial foreign body remains a matter of conjecture. The available literature supports non-operative management of such innocuous foreign bodies. We report our experience of a hemodynamically normal patient with a retained intra-pericardial pellet from a firearm injury. He initially received successful non-operative management but developed fatal hemopericardium 21 days after injury. In this paper, we discussed the pitfalls in the management of such injuries in light of the available literature and summarized the clinical experience.
ISSN:1008-1275