Cor Vasa 2017, 59(5):e520-e523

Penetrating injury to the heart

Monika Mikolášková^a,c,*, Ondřej Ludka^a,b,c, Petra Ondříková^e, Vladimír Horváth^d, Petr Němec^d, Jindřich Špinar^a,b,c

^a Interní kardiologická klinika, Fakultní nemocnice Brno, Brno, Česká republika

^b Mezinárodní centrum klinického výzkumu, Fakultní nemocnice u sv. Anny v Brně, Brno, Česká republika

^c Lékařská fakulta Masarykovy Univerzity, Brno, Česká republika

^d Centrum kardiovaskulární a transplantační chirurgie, Brno, Česká republika

^e Klinika radiologie a nukleární medicíny, Fakultní nemocnice Brno, Brno, Česká republika

We report a rare case of penetrating cardiac injury. Management of the unique life-threatening condition is described. The successful outcome of treatment of this severe group of patients could be achieved by maintenance of the following fundamental principles: rapid transport of patients to the nearest hospital, maximum rapidity in establishment of the diagnosis and highly qualified urgent surgical intervention. Echocardiography is the most informative as well as quick method of noninvasive diagnostics of penetrating cardiac injuries.

Keywords: Cardiac injury; Computed tomography; Echocardiography; Emergency surgery; Penetrating injury

Received: October 6, 2016; Revised: December 30, 2016; Accepted: January 6, 2017; Published: October 1, 2017  Show citation