Can chest trauma elevate troponin?

Interestingly, evidence about the clinical usefulness of cardiac troponins for identifying cardiac involvement after chest trauma is limited. Ferjani et al. measured cardiac troponin T (cTnT) in 128 patients who suffered chest trauma, and found that elevated values of this biomarker were present in 31% of cases (25).

What is a blunt cardiac trauma?

Blunt cardiac injury (BCI) encompasses a spectrum of pathology ranging from clinically silent, transient arrhythmias to deadly cardiac wall rupture. The most common form is “cardiac contusion” (ie, injury to the myocardium), which remains the subject of considerable debate.

How is cardiac contusion diagnosed?

Myocardial contusion is a well defined pathological entity following deceleration trauma. Severe contusion results in ventricular dysfunction and malignant arrhythmia. Diagnosis is based on ECG findings. Diagnosis in less severe cases is more difficult.

What are some of the possible consequences of a blunt injury to the heart a penetrating injury?

A blunt injury to the heart can cause various symptoms. Most people have pain and often bruising or other injuries around the breastbone or ribs. Some people have symptoms of heart failure, such as shortness of breath. People may go into shock .

What do you do with the EMT flail chest?

Patients with a flail chest and respiratory distress will likely require PPV with a bag-valve mask, and those with respiratory failure may require endotracheal intubation. PPV will serve to splint the flail segment internally and increase tidal volume, reversing developing hypoxia.

What is cardiac contusion?

Myocardial contusion is a bruise of the heart muscle. The interior of the heart is composed of valves, chambers, and associated vessels. The external structures of the heart include the ventricles, atria, arteries and veins. Arteries carry blood away from the heart while veins carry blood into the heart.

Can blunt force trauma stop your heart?

This type of injury doesn’t cause direct damage to the heart muscle. Instead, blunt trauma, such as the kind that occurs when the left side of the chest is hit with a baseball, interrupts the heart’s rhythm. This causes sudden cardiac arrest in an otherwise structurally normal heart.

How long does cardiac contusion take to heal?

Do this 3 or 4 times per day. As your pain gets better, slowly return to your normal activities. Be patient, because chest bruises can take weeks or months to heal. Any increased pain may be a sign that you need to rest a while longer.

What does blunt force trauma look like?

Blunt trauma, also known as non-penetrating trauma or blunt force trauma, refers to injury of the body by forceful impact, falls, or physical attack with a dull object. Penetrating trauma, by contrast, involves an object or surface piercing the skin, causing an open wound.

How long does it take for blunt force trauma to heal?

For a mild strain, you may be able to return to normal activities within three to six weeks with basic home care. For more severe strains, recovery can take several months. In severe cases, surgical repair and physical therapy may be necessary. With proper treatment, most people recover completely.

How painful is flail chest?

The constant motion of the ribs in the flail segment at the site of the fracture is extremely painful, and, untreated, the sharp broken edges of the ribs are likely to eventually puncture the pleural sac and lung, possibly causing a pneumothorax.

How do you treat Preaspital flail chest?

Methods of splinting include direct pressure applied by the hand of the patient or practitioner; positioning the patient laying on the flail segment; or a 500 ml bag of fluid taped over the area of flail. Paramedics, doctors and appropriately trained nurses may relieve a tension pneumothorax by needle decompression.