AI Article Synopsis

  • Cardiac contusion is often overlooked in emergency settings for patients with blunt chest trauma, especially if they show no immediate symptoms.
  • A 43-year-old man involved in a motorcycle accident went to the hospital with only mild symptoms but later developed serious complications due to an undiagnosed left anterior descending artery (LAD) dissection.
  • This case emphasizes the importance of recognizing potential traumatic coronary conditions in asymptomatic patients to prevent severe outcomes, underscoring the need for careful evaluation even with a normal ECG.

Article Abstract

Cardiac contusion is rarely diagnosed in patients with blunt chest trauma in the emergency department, especially if patients are asymptomatic. We present a case of a 43-year-old man whose diagnosis of left anterior descending artery (LAD) dissection after blunt chest trauma was delayed. The patient presented to the emergency department of a remote district hospital after a motorcycle accident, asymptomatic with a mildly reduced level of consciousness due to a very small subdural hemorrhage. Ten days later, when he developed a syncopal attack due to a massive pulmonary embolism (PE), his first performed electrocardiogram (ECG) showed sinus rhythm with QS waves and slight ST elevation in leads V2-V6. The subsequent coronary angiography showed left anterior descending artery dissection, and the diagnosis was nicely depicted with optical coherence tomography (OCT). A drug-eluting stent was implanted with a good angiographic result. This case highlights the significance of early recognition of traumatic coronary dissection, which should be excluded even in asymptomatic patients with a plain ECG acquisition, for the appropriate management and prevention of unfavorable outcomes.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10680047PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.47630DOI Listing

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