"Incidental" pericardial effusion during surgeon-performed ultrasonography in patients with blunt torso trauma

Incidental finding of asymptomatic non-traumatic pericardial effusion in a trauma patient: a case report

Pericardial effusion can either be an incidental finding or a manifestation of systemic or cardiac disease. It has a wide range of presentations, from asymptomatic small effusion to rapidly progressive fatal tamponade. In a trauma setting, pericardial effusion is usually attributed to hematoma collection, with the concern of clinical evidence of tamponade that can lead to cardiopulmonary collapse. The Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (FAST) is a widely used tool to diagnose pericardial effusion in trauma patients. We published this case report to emphasize that the presence of pericardial effusion alone in a trauma patient does not indicate the presence of tamponade. This case concerns a 39 years old male patient who presented to ER as a trauma case after a fall from two meters height and landing on his feet. ATLS protocol was followed, and FAST showed an incidental finding of massive pericardial fluid. The trauma team was consulted, and the patient was hemodynamically stable without clinical evidence of tamponade. Echocardiography showed mitral valve stenosis and large pericardial effusion. The close observation did not suggest the presence of cardiac tamponade. The pericardial catheter was inserted during admission with drainage of 900cc of serous fluid. The presence of pericardial fluid in a trauma setting does not confirm the diagnosis of tamponade. The mechanism of injury, clinical presentation, and the patient's stability are essential factors in determining further management of such patients.

Association of thoracic cage fractures and pericardial effusion in blunt trauma

BACKGROUND

Several case reports suggest that penetrating thoracic cage fractures are an important cause for hemopericardium and cardiac tamponade following blunt trauma. However, the prevalence of this mechanism of injury is not fully known, and considering this association may provide a better understanding of the utility of cardiac component of the FAST (Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma).

OBJECTIVE

To determine the association of thoracic cage fractures and pericardial effusion in patients with blunt trauma.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective, multicenter cohort study using the Trauma Quality Improvement Program (TQIP) database (2015-2017) of adults ≥18 years of age whose mechanism of injury was either a fall or motor vehicle accident. Thoracic cage fractures were defined as any rib or sternum fracture. The primary outcome was the presence of pericardial effusion. Confounding variables were accounted for using multivariable logistic regression.

RESULTS

We included 1,673,704 patients in the study; 226,896 (14%) patients had at least one thoracic cage fracture. A pericardial effusion was present in 4923 (0.3%) patients. When a thoracic cage fracture was present, the odds of having a pericardial effusion was significantly higher (adjusted Odds Ratio [aOR] 6.5 [95% CI: 6.1-7.0]). Patients with left and right-sided rib fractures had similar odds of a pericardial effusion (aOR 1.2 [95% CI 1.04-1.4]). Sternal fractures carried the highest odds of having a pericardial effusion (aOR 11.1 [9.9-12.3]).

CONCLUSION

Thoracic cage fractures secondary to blunt trauma represent a significant independent risk factor for the development of a pericardial effusion. Our findings lend support for the mechanism of bony injuries causing penetrating cardiac trauma. Given these findings, and the fact that many thoracic cage fractures are detected after the initial evaluation, we support maintaining the cardiac view in the FAST examination for all blunt trauma patients.

Non-operative management is feasible for selected blunt trauma patients with pericardial effusion

BACKGROUND

Blunt pericardial effusion (BPE) in trauma patients can be suggestive of injuries to the heart or great vessels. Surgical exploration is the mainstay of management; however, the effectiveness of non-operative management in this patient group remains unclear.

METHODS

Patients presenting with BPE in the trauma registry system at our level I trauma center were reviewed. Patients with and without cardiovascular (CVS) injury were compared to identify predictors for CVS injury and to understand the factors related to the requirement for surgery. Patients with and without CVS injury who presented with stable hemodynamics and initially received conservative management were also compared.

RESULTS

Thirty patients were enrolled in the study with a mean age of 53.2 (standard deviation (SD) 18.0) years and a mean injury severity score (ISS) of 26.7 (SD 9.0). Eleven patients presented with systolic blood pressure (SBP)<100mmHg, and immediate surgical intervention was performed. Eight patients had evidence of CVS injury (73%). Nineteen patients had stable hemodynamics and initially received conservative treatment. Of these, twelve patients received further surgical interventions, and only three had evidence of CVS injury (16%, 3/19). Comparisons of individuals with and without CVS injury revealed that the SBP on presentation was higher in patients without CVS injury than in those with CVS injury (132.7 (SD 41.3) mmHg vs. 95.6 (SD 21.1) mmHg). Clinically irrelevant differences between the two groups were observed for the creatine kinase (CK)-MB level, the troponin I level, the presence of an echocardiography tamponade sign, associated chest trauma and ISS. No remarkable predictors for CVS injury were found in hemodynamically stable patients.

CONCLUSION

Non-operative management can be considered for patents with traumatic BPE and stable hemodynamics; however, this approach must be performed at an institution with adequate facilities and well-trained staff.

Management of pericardial fluid in blunt trauma: Variability in practice and predictors of operative outcome in patients with computed tomography evidence of pericardial fluid

BACKGROUND

The objectives of this study were to assess current variability in management preferences for blunt trauma patients with pericardial fluid, and to identify characteristics associated with operative intervention for patients with pericardial fluid on admission computed tomography (CT) scan.

METHODS

This was a mixed-methods study of blunt trauma patients with pericardial fluid. The first portion was a research survey of members of the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma conducted in 2016, in which surgeons were presented with four clinical scenarios of blunt trauma patients with pericardial fluid. The second portion of the study was a retrospective evaluation of all blunt trauma patients 14 years or older treated at our Level I trauma center between January 1, 2010, and November 1, 2015, with pericardial fluid on admission CT scan.

RESULTS

For the survey portion of our study, 393 surgeons responded (27% response rate). There was significant variability in management preferences for scenarios depicting trace pericardial fluid on CT with concerning hemodynamics, and for scenarios depicting hemopericardium intraoperatively. For the separate retrospective portion of our study, we identified 75 blunt trauma patients with pericardial fluid on admission CT scan. Seven underwent operative management; six of these had hypotension and/or electrocardiogram changes. In multivariable analysis, pericardial fluid amount was a significant predictor of receiving pericardial window (relative risk for one category increase in pericardial fluid amount, 3.99, 95% confidence interval, 1.47-10.81) but not of mortality.

CONCLUSION

There is significant variability in management preferences for patients with pericardial fluid from blunt trauma, indicating a need for evidence-based research. Our institutional data suggest that patients with minimal to small amounts of pericardial fluid without concerning clinical findings may be observed. Patients with moderate to large amounts of pericardial fluid who are clinically stable with normal hemodynamics may also appear appropriate for observation, although confirmation in larger studies is needed. Patients with hemodynamic instability should undergo operative exploration.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Therapeutic/care management study, level IV.

Cost-effectiveness of the Cardiac Component of the Focused Assessment of Sonography in Trauma Examination in Blunt Trauma

BACKGROUND

Blunt cardiac injury severe enough to require surgical intervention (sBCI) is an exceedingly rare event occurring in approximately 1 out of every 1600 trauma patients. While performing the cardiac component of the Focused Assessment of Sonography in Trauma (cFAST) exam is effective in penetrating trauma, it is unclear whether it is of value in blunt trauma given the low prevalence of sBCI, the imperfect test characteristics of the FAST exam, and the rate of incidental pericardial effusion.

OBJECTIVE

The objective was to determine through decision analysis whether performing the cFAST exam is cost-effective in the evaluation of hypotensive and normotensive blunt trauma patients.

METHODS

We created two decision analytic models using commercially available software (TreeAgePro2011) to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the cFAST in hypotensive (systolic blood pressure <90 mm Hg) and normotensive blunt trauma patients. Clinical probabilities were obtained from published data. Costs were estimated from Medicare reimbursement and charge data. The willingness-to-pay threshold was $50,000/quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). Sensitivity analyses were performed over plausible ranges using available literature.

RESULTS

In hypotensive patients, for the base case scenario of a 34-year-old with blunt trauma, the cFAST strategy had a cost of $42,882.70 and an effectiveness of 25.3597 QALYs, whereas the no cFAST strategy had a cost of $42,753.52 and an effectiveness of 25.3532 QALYs. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was $19,918/QALY. For normotensive patients the cFAST strategy had a cost of $18,331.03 and an effectiveness of 23.2817 QALYs, whereas the no cFAST strategy had a cost of $18,207.58 and an effectiveness of 23.2814 QALYs. The ICER was $465,867/QALY. In the sensitivity analyses, age, probability of death from sBCI with prompt treatment, and probability of sBCI were the main drivers of variability in the model outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

The cFAST for blunt trauma is cost-effective for hypotensive but not for normotensive patients. The ICER for hypotensive patients was more than 20 times higher than the ICER for normotensive patients. Our results suggest that performing the cFAST exam may not be an effective use of resources in normotensive blunt trauma patients.

Trauma sternotomy for presumed haemopericardium with incidental coccidioidal pericarditis

Background

Disseminated cocciodiomycosis with extrapulmonary disease occurs in less than 1% of infected patients, with few cases involving the pericardium reported in the literature. A subxiphoid window in a focussed assessment with sonography for trauma is a fast and reliable study for detecting haemopericardium in the haemodynamically unstable injured patient.

Methods

Case report and literature review.

Case report

A 50-year old man presented in extremis following a stab wound to the right thoracoabdominal region with a positive pericardial ultrasound. At the time of emergent sternotomy, the pericardial effusion appeared non-traumatic and not the cause of haemodynamic instability. Lung, diaphragm, liver and transverse colon lacerations were controlled by laparotomy. He was discovered to have extensive adenopathy within the mediastinum, porta hepatis, and lesser sac, which after histopathologic examination, demonstrated granulomatous lymphadenitis consistent with disseminated cocciodiomycosis.

Conclusions

This case report describes the first reported “incidental” pericardial effusion in a haemodynamically unstable patient sustaining a thoracoabdominal stab wound discovered on a positive ultrasound study. Emergent operative exploration and subsequent workup determined the pericardial fluid to be of infectious origin, rather than traumatic. With the incidence of cocciodiomycosis within endemic geographic regions significantly rising, coccidioidal pericarditis may become an increasingly relevant cause of fluid detected on noninvasive pericardial examination.

Utility of the cardiac component of FAST in blunt trauma

BACKGROUND

Focused assessment with sonography in trauma (FAST) is widely used and endorsed by guidelines, but little evidence exists regarding the utility of the cardiac portion in blunt trauma. The traditional FAST includes the routine performance of cardiac sonography, regardless of risk for hemopericardium.

STUDY OBJECTIVES

Our goal was to estimate the prevalence of hemopericardium due to blunt trauma and determine the sensitivity of certain variables for the presence of blunt hemopericardium.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective chart review of two institutional databases at a large urban Level I trauma center to determine the prevalence of blunt hemopericardium and cardiac rupture and incidental or insignificant effusions. We evaluated the sensitivity of major mechanism of injury, hypotension, and emergent intubation for blunt hemopericardium and cardiac rupture.

RESULTS

Eighteen patients had hemopericardium and cardiac rupture (14 and 4, respectively) out of 29,236 blunt trauma patients in the Trauma Registry over an 8.5-year period. The prevalence was 0.06% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.04-0.09%). The prevalence of incidental or insignificant effusions was 0.13% (95% CI 0.09-0.18%). One case of blunt hemopericardium was identified in the emergency ultrasound database out of 777 cardiac ultrasounds over a 3-year period. No patient with blunt hemopericardium or cardiac rupture presented without a major mechanism of injury, hypotension, or emergent intubation.

CONCLUSION

Blunt hemopericardium is rare. High-acuity variables may help guide the selective use of echocardiography in blunt trauma.

[Cardiac arrest following blunt chest injury. Emergency thoracotomy without ifs or buts?]

In German-speaking countries, most serious thoracic injuries are attributable to the impact of blunt force; they are the second most frequent result of injury after head injury in polytrauma patients with multiple injuries. Almost one in every three polytraumatized patients with significant chest injury develops acute lung failure, and one in every four, acute circulatory failure. The acute circulatory arrest following serious chest injury involves a high mortality rate, and in most cases it reflects a tension pneumothorax, cardiac tamponade, or hemorrhagic shock resulting from injury to the heart or one of the large vessels close to it. Brisk drainage of tension pneumothorax and adequate volume restoration are therefore particularly important in resuscitation of multiply traumatized patients, as are rapid resuscitative thoracotomy to allow direct heart massage, drainage of pericardial tamponade, and control of hemorrhage. However the probability of survival described in the literature is very low for patients sustaining severe chest trauma with acute cardiac arrest. The case report presented here describes a female polytrauma patient who suffered an acute cardiac arrest following cardiac tamponade after admission in the emergency department and who survived without neurological deficits after an emergency thoracotomy. Selections from the topical literature can help the treating physician in the emergency department in making decisions on whether an emergency thoracotomy is indicated after a blunt chest injury and on the procedure itself.

Cardiac Impalement from a Rib after Blunt Trauma

Blunt chest trauma produces a variety of injuries. We present a case report of a hemodynamically stable patient after blunt chest trauma with radiographic images suggestive of the left fifth rib penetration to the heart. The diagnosis, surgical approach, and course of the patient are discussed.

Surgeon-performed ultrasound in the ICU setting

Evaluation of critically ill patients is often challenging due to altered sensorium, underlying disease, and the presence of multiple drains or monitoring devices. In such circumstances, the ability of physicians to perform ultrasound examinations in the intensive care unit provides a useful diagnostic and therapeutic adjunct. In this article,we review the application of surgeon-performed ultrasonography in the evaluation and management of critically ill patients.