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BMJ Case Reports Apr 2024A man in his 20s with no medical illness sustained a blunt chest injury with pneumothorax and lung contusion after involving in a motorbike accident. Five days...
A man in his 20s with no medical illness sustained a blunt chest injury with pneumothorax and lung contusion after involving in a motorbike accident. Five days postadmission, he subsequently had myocardial infarction with cardiac arrest, in which coronary angiogram and intravascular ultrasound showed diffused multivessel coronary artery dissection.
Topics: Humans; Male; Wounds, Nonpenetrating; Thoracic Injuries; Myocardial Infarction; Coronary Angiography; Coronary Vessels; Accidents, Traffic; Adult; Aortic Dissection; Ultrasonography, Interventional
PubMed: 38684352
DOI: 10.1136/bcr-2024-260649 -
Circulation. Arrhythmia and... Apr 2024Commotio cordis, sudden cardiac death (SCD) caused by relatively innocent impact to the chest, is one of the leading causes of SCD in sports. Commercial chest protectors...
BACKGROUND
Commotio cordis, sudden cardiac death (SCD) caused by relatively innocent impact to the chest, is one of the leading causes of SCD in sports. Commercial chest protectors have not been demonstrated to mitigate the risk of these SCDs.
METHODS
To develop a standard to assess chest protectors, 4 phases occurred. A physiological commotio cordis model was utilized to assess variables that predicted for SCD. Next, a surrogate model was developed based on data from the physiological model, and the attenuation in risk was assessed. In the third phase, this model was calibrated and validated. Finally, National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment adopted the standard and had an open review process with revision of the standard over 3 years.
RESULTS
Of all variables, impact force was the most robust at predicting SCD. Chest wall protectors which could reduce the force of impact to under thresholds were predicted to reduce the risk of SCD. The correlation between the experimental model and the mechanical surrogate ranged from 0.783 with a lacrosse ball at 30 mph to 0.898 with a baseball at 50 mph. The standard was licensed to National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment which initially adopted the standard in January 2018, and finalized in July 2021.
CONCLUSIONS
An effective mechanical surrogate based on physiological data from a well-established model of commotio cordis predicts the reduction in SCD with chest protectors. A greater reduction in force provides a great degree of protection from commotio cordis. This new National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment standard for chest protectors should result in a significant reduction in the risk of commotio cordis on the playing field.
Topics: Humans; Commotio Cordis; Ventricular Fibrillation; Death, Sudden, Cardiac; Sports Equipment; Thorax; Wounds, Nonpenetrating
PubMed: 38390710
DOI: 10.1161/CIRCEP.123.011966 -
Annals of Medicine Dec 2024To determine the incidence rates (IRs) of catastrophic injuries and exertional medical events in lacrosse athletes.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the incidence rates (IRs) of catastrophic injuries and exertional medical events in lacrosse athletes.
METHODS
Catastrophic injuries and exertional medical events in lacrosse in the US among youth or amateur, high school and college athletes were analysed from the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research (NCCSIR) database from 1982/83 to 2019/20. Frequencies, IRs per 100,000 athlete-seasons (AS) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with 95% CIs were calculated. Participation data were gathered from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and USA Lacrosse.
RESULTS
Sixty-nine catastrophic events (16 youth or amateur, 36 high school and 17 college; 84% male) occurred in US lacrosse from 7/1/1982 to 6/30/2020. Thirty-six percent of all incidents were fatal. The overall IR was 0.5 per 100,000 AS (95% CI: 0.4-0.7). There were 15 cases of non-traumatic sudden cardiac arrests (SCAs) and 15 incidents of commotio cordis. Fatality rates from SCA and commotio cordis decreased 95% (IRR = 0.05; 95% CI: 0, 0.2) from 1982/83-2006/07 to 2007/08-2019/20. Incidence rates were higher for collegiate versus high school 1982/83-2019/20 (IRR = 3.2; 95% CI: 1.8, 5.7) and collegiate versus youth 2005/06-2019/20 (IRR = 8.0; 95% CI: 3.0, 21.4) level. Contact with a stick or ball (41%) and contact with another player (20%) were the primary mechanisms of injury.
CONCLUSIONS
The incidence of catastrophic events during lacrosse was higher among collegiate than high school or youth athletes. SCA from an underlying cardiac condition or from commotio cordis was the most common catastrophic event. Fatality rates from catastrophic injuries have declined significantly over the study period, perhaps driven by protective measures adopted by lacrosse governing bodies.
Topics: Humans; Male; Adolescent; United States; Female; Athletic Injuries; Commotio Cordis; Schools; Racquet Sports; Athletes; Incidence
PubMed: 38335556
DOI: 10.1080/07853890.2024.2311223 -
BMJ Case Reports Jan 2024Myocardial contusion should be suspected in a selected patient group with blunt thoracic trauma, who have elevated troponin, ECG changes and/or haemodynamical...
Myocardial contusion should be suspected in a selected patient group with blunt thoracic trauma, who have elevated troponin, ECG changes and/or haemodynamical instability. Echocardiography is useful for direct visualisation of possible complications. In stable conditions, MRI allows for good visualisation of the heart and can confirm a suspected myocardial contusion as well as demonstrate the extent of myocardial damage. Based on the present literature, the authors developed a diagram for the diagnostic approach of a patient with suspected myocardial contusion.
Topics: Humans; Heart Injuries; Myocardial Contusions; Troponin; Echocardiography; Wounds, Nonpenetrating; Thoracic Injuries; Contusions; Electrocardiography
PubMed: 38272515
DOI: 10.1136/bcr-2023-257082 -
Commotio Cordis Returns…When We Least Expected It: Cardiac Arrest in A Professional Football Player.The American Journal of Cardiology Sep 2023For the first time in 52 years, an American professional football player (Damar Hamlin) collapsed in cardiac arrest during a game, viewed in real-time on national...
For the first time in 52 years, an American professional football player (Damar Hamlin) collapsed in cardiac arrest during a game, viewed in real-time on national television. The cause of this profound event was commotio cordis, that is, blunt non-penetrating chest blow-initiated ventricular fibrillation triggered by physical contact not considered unusual for football. The athlete survived because of timely cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation provided by first responders organized by the National Football League. Commotio cordis, albeit rare, was most prominently identified initially in competitive and also recreational sports participants. More recently it became apparent that similar events could occur in almost any circumstance involving a chest blow, such as during everyday activities around the home and with innocent play. The determinant of a commotio cordis event is a blow over the heart in a narrow vulnerable electrical window during dispersion of repolarization. Survival from these events has increased substantially to >60% due to enhanced recognition and prompt resuscitation/defibrillation. In conclusion, in this commentary, we take a timely opportunity to describe in detail the relevant demographics, mechanism/pathophysiology, and clinical course of commotio cordis.
Topics: Humans; Commotio Cordis; Football; Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation; Arrhythmias, Cardiac; Death, Sudden, Cardiac; Ventricular Fibrillation; Heart Arrest; Wounds, Nonpenetrating
PubMed: 37495440
DOI: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2023.06.027 -
BMC Anesthesiology Jul 2023One of the worst types of severe chest injuries seen by clinicians is flail chest. This study aims to measure the overall mortality rate among flail chest patients and... (Observational Study)
Observational Study
BACKGROUND
One of the worst types of severe chest injuries seen by clinicians is flail chest. This study aims to measure the overall mortality rate among flail chest patients and then to correlate mortality with several demographic, pathologic, and management factors.
METHODOLOGY
A retrospective observational study tracked a total of 376 flail chest patients admitted to the emergency intensive care unit (EICU) and surgical intensive care unit (SICU) at Zagazig University over 120 months. The main outcome measurement was overall mortality. The secondary outcomes were the association of age and sex, concomitant head injury, lung and cardiac contusions, the onset of mechanical ventilation (MV) and chest tubes insertion, the length of mechanical ventilation and ICU stay in days, injury severity score (ISS), associated surgeries, pneumonia, sepsis, the implication of standard fluid therapy and steroid therapy, and the systemic and regional analgesia, with the overall mortality rates.
RESULTS
The mortality rate was 19.9% overall. The shorter onset of MV and chest tube insertion, and the longer ICU, and hospital length of stay were noted in the mortality group compared with the survived group (P-value less than 0.05). Concomitant head injuries, associated surgeries, pneumonia, pneumothorax, sepsis, lung and myocardial contusion, standard fluid therapy, and steroid therapy were significantly correlated with mortality (P-value less than 0.05). MV had no statistically significant effect on mortality. Regional analgesia (58.8%) had a significantly higher survival rate than intravenous fentanyl infusion (41.2%). In multivariate analysis, sepsis, concomitant head injury, and high ISS were independent predictors for mortality [OR (95% CI) = 568.98 (19.49-16613.52), 6.86 (2.86-16.49), and 1.19 (1.09-1.30), respectively].
CONCLUSION
The current report recorded mortality of 19.9% between flail chest injury patients. Sepsis, concomitant head injury, and higher ISS are the independent risk factors for mortality when associated with flail chest injury. Considering restricted fluid management strategy and regional analgesia may help better outcome for flail chest injury patients.
Topics: Humans; Flail Chest; Developing Countries; Tertiary Care Centers; Thoracic Injuries; Pneumonia; Morbidity; Craniocerebral Trauma; Sepsis; Steroids; Retrospective Studies; Length of Stay
PubMed: 37403012
DOI: 10.1186/s12871-023-02185-y -
Cureus May 2023Introduction Cardiac troponin (cTn) forms an essential part of the diagnostic criteria for myocardial infarction (MI). Type 1 MI is a primary coronary arterial event,...
Introduction Cardiac troponin (cTn) forms an essential part of the diagnostic criteria for myocardial infarction (MI). Type 1 MI is a primary coronary arterial event, whereas type 2 MI is due to coronary oxygen supply/demand mismatch, which is common in trauma patients. In addition, cTn may be elevated for many reasons other than MI. cTn elevations in trauma may not be specific for MI amenable to revascularization. The aim of this study is to determine which subset of trauma patients benefits from measuring cTn, and which patients with elevated cTn benefit from ischemic workup. Methods This is a retrospective cohort study. All patients on the trauma service of a level 1 trauma center with cTn elevated above the upper reference value of 0.032 ng/ml from July 2017 through December 2020 were selected. Baseline characteristics were recorded. The main outcomes were cardiology determination of the etiology of elevated cTn and patient survival. Logistic regression was used for multivariate analysis. Results One hundred forty-seven (147; 1.1%) of 13746 trauma patients had maximum cTn over the 99th percentile. Forty-one (27.5%) of the 147 had ischemic changes on electrocardiogram (ECG). Sixty-four (43.0%) had chest pain. In 81 (55.1%) cases, cTn was ordered without a clearly justified indication. One hundred thirty-seven patients (93.3%) received a cardiology consult. Two (1.5%) of 137 patients had a type 1 MI, which was diagnosed by ECG and clinical symptoms before cTn results were available. One hundred thirty-five patients were evaluated for cardiac ischemia based on elevated cTn. In 91 (66.4%) cases, the elevated cTn was attributed to a cardiac oxygen supply/demand mismatch. The etiology was cardiac contusion for 26 (19.0%), with the rest attributed to various other trauma-related causes. The cardiology consult changed management for 90 (65.7%) patients, mainly consisting of further evaluation by echocardiogram for 78 (57.0%) patients. Elevated cTn was a significant independent predictor of death with an adjusted odds ratio of 2.6 (p=0.002). Conclusion Isolated cTn values in trauma are most often due to type 2 MI resulting from trauma-related issues, such as tachycardia and anemia, which affect myocardial oxygen supply and demand. Changes in management generally consisted of further workup and interventions such as monitoring and pharmacologic treatment. Elevated cTn in this cohort never led to revascularization but was valuable to identify patients who required more intensive monitoring, longer-term follow-up, and supportive cardiac care. More selective ordering of cTn would improve specificity for patients requiring specialized cardiac care.
PubMed: 37398763
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.39711 -
Sports Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) Aug 2023Since the nationally televised cardiac arrest of American National Football League player Damar Hamlin in January 2023, commotio cordis has come to the forefront of... (Review)
Review
Since the nationally televised cardiac arrest of American National Football League player Damar Hamlin in January 2023, commotio cordis has come to the forefront of public attention. Commotio cordis is defined as sudden cardiac arrest due to direct trauma to the precordium resulting in ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia. While the precise incidence of commotio cordis is not known due to a lack of standardized, mandated reporting, it is the third most common cause of sudden cardiac death in young athletes, with more than 75% of cases occurring during organized and recreational sporting events. Given that survival is closely tied to how quickly victims receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation, it is crucial to raise awareness of commotio cordis so that athletic trainers, coaches, team physicians, and emergency medical personnel can rapidly diagnose and treat this often-fatal condition. Broader distribution of automated external defibrillators in sporting facilities as well as increased presence of medical personnel during sporting events would also likely lead to higher survival rates.
Topics: Humans; Commotio Cordis; Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation; Death, Sudden, Cardiac; Arrhythmias, Cardiac; Football
PubMed: 37382827
DOI: 10.1007/s40279-023-01873-6 -
World Journal of Emergency Surgery :... May 2023The diagnosis of cardiac contusion, caused by blunt chest trauma, remains a challenge due to the non-specific symptoms it causes and the lack of ideal tests to diagnose... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
INTRODUCTION
The diagnosis of cardiac contusion, caused by blunt chest trauma, remains a challenge due to the non-specific symptoms it causes and the lack of ideal tests to diagnose myocardial damage. A cardiac contusion can be life-threatening if not diagnosed and treated promptly. Several diagnostic tests have been used to evaluate the risk of cardiac complications, but the challenge of identifying patients with contusions nevertheless remains.
AIM OF THE STUDY
To evaluate the accuracy of diagnostic tests for detecting blunt cardiac injury (BCI) and its complications, in patients with severe chest injuries, who are assessed in an emergency department or by any front-line emergency physician.
METHODS
A targeted search strategy was performed using Ovid MEDLINE and Embase databases from 1993 up to October 2022. Data on at least one of the following diagnostic tests: electrocardiogram (ECG), serum creatinine phosphokinase-MB level (CPK-MB), echocardiography (Echo), Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) or Cardiac troponin T (cTnT). Diagnostic tests for cardiac contusion were evaluated for their accuracy in meta-analysis. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I and the QUADAS-2 tool was used to assess bias of the studies.
RESULTS
This systematic review yielded 51 studies (n = 5,359). The weighted mean incidence of myocardial injuries after sustaining a blunt force trauma stood at 18.3% of cases. Overall weighted mean mortality among patients with blunt cardiac injury was 7.6% (1.4-36.4%). Initial ECG, cTnI, cTnT and transthoracic echocardiography TTE all showed high specificity (> 80%), but lower sensitivity (< 70%). TEE had a specificity of 72.1% (range 35.8-98.2%) and sensitivity of 86.7% (range 40-99.2%) in diagnosing cardiac contusion. CK-MB had the lowest diagnostic odds ratio of 3.598 (95% CI: 1.832-7.068). Normal ECG accompanied by normal cTnI showed a high sensitivity of 85% in ruling out cardiac injuries.
CONCLUSION
Emergency physicians face great challenges in diagnosing cardiac injuries in patients following blunt trauma. In the majority of cases, joint use of ECG and cTnI was a pragmatic and cost-effective approach to rule out cardiac injuries. In addition, TEE may be highly accurate in identifying cardiac injuries in suspected cases.
Topics: Humans; Thoracic Injuries; Wounds, Nonpenetrating; Heart Injuries; Myocardial Contusions; Troponin I; Troponin T; Diagnostic Tests, Routine
PubMed: 37245048
DOI: 10.1186/s13017-023-00504-9 -
Journal of the American College of... Mar 2023Causes and precipitating factors of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in adolescents are poorly understood.
BACKGROUND
Causes and precipitating factors of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in adolescents are poorly understood.
OBJECTIVES
The authors sought to investigate the etiologies of SCD and their association with physical activity in a large cohort of adolescents.
METHODS
Between 1994 and June 2022, 7,675 cases of SCD were consecutively referred to our national cardiac pathology center; 756 (10%) were adolescents. All cases underwent detailed autopsy evaluation by expert cardiac pathologists. Clinical information was obtained from referring coroners.
RESULTS
A structurally normal heart, indicative of sudden arrhythmic death syndrome was the most common autopsy finding (n = 474; 63%). Myocardial diseases were detected in 163 cases (22%), including arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (n = 36; 5%), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (n = 31; 4%), idiopathic left ventricular hypertrophy (n = 31; 4%), and myocarditis (n = 30; 4%). Coronary artery anomalies were identified in 17 cases (2%). Decedents were competitive athletes in 128 cases (17%), and 159 decedents (21%) died during exercise. Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy was diagnosed in 8% of athletes compared with 4% of nonathletes (P = 0.05); coronary artery anomalies were significantly more common in athletes (9% vs 1%; P < 0.001), as well as commotio cordis (5% compared with 1% in nonathletes; P = 0.001). The 3 main comorbidities were asthma (n = 58; 8%), epilepsy (n = 44; 6%), and obesity (n = 40; 5%).
CONCLUSIONS
Sudden arrhythmic death syndrome and myocardial diseases are the most common conditions diagnosed at autopsy in adolescent victims of SCD. Among causes of SCD, arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, coronary artery anomalies, and commotio cordis are more common in young athletes than in similar age sedentary individuals.
Topics: Humans; Adolescent; Commotio Cordis; Death, Sudden, Cardiac; Athletes; Cardiomyopathies; United Kingdom; Coronary Artery Disease
PubMed: 36922085
DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2023.01.041