Abstract
A retrospective review was undertaken of 169 patients admitted to an Intensive Therapy Unit with a major chest injury to determine the incidence, clinical features and outcome of patients with myocardial contusion. This injury occurred in 29 (17%) patients, of whom 24 (83%) had significant cardiovascular complications and five died as a direct result of the injury. The interval between injury and diagnosis was 3.2±2.3 days (mean±SD) from injury and in six patients the diagnosis was made only at necropsy. Increased awarenness of myocardial contusion is required for earlier diagnosis and prevention of complications.
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Macdonald, R.C., O'Neill, D., Hanning, C.D. et al. Myocardial contusion in blunt chest trauma: A ten-year review. Intensive Care Med 7, 265–268 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01709720
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01709720