Question Of The Day #54

question of the day
Which of the following is the most likely cause for this patient’s condition?

This patient sustained significant blunt trauma to the chest, presents to the Emergency Department with hypotension, tachycardia, a large chest ecchymosis, and palpable sternal crepitus.  The ultrasound image provided shows a subxiphoid view of the heart with a large pericardial effusion.  In the setting of trauma, this should be assumed to be a hemopericardium.  This patient has cardiac tamponade, which is considered a type of obstructive shock (Choice C).  Treatment includes IV hydration to increase preload, bedside pericardiocentesis, and ultimately, a surgical cardiac window performed by cardiothoracic surgery.  The other shock types (Choices A, B, D) do not describe this patient’s presentation.  Please see the chart below for further description of the different shock types and therapies.

 

References

Cite this article as: Joseph Ciano, USA, "Question Of The Day #54," in International Emergency Medicine Education Project, September 10, 2021, https://iem-student.org/2021/09/10/question-of-the-day-54/, date accessed: December 5, 2023

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.