Pneumopericardium due to blunt trauma

Abstract

Pneumopericardium is the presence of gas in the pericardial sac. Its etiology includes chest trauma, iatrogenic causes, thoracic surgery, and mechanical ventilation, and it is mostly asymptomatic. However, pneumopericardium can also be fatal because it can cause cardiac tamponade. All surgeons dealing with thoracic trauma should be aware of this pathology. A case of a 30-year-old patient presenting with pneumopericardium due to blunt trauma who was evaluated in the emergency department at our hospital is presented.

Keywords

• Pneumopericardium
• Blunt chest trauma
• Cardiac tamponade

References

1. 1. Rolim Marques AF, Lopes LH, Martins Mdos S, Carmona CV, Fraga GP, Hirano ES. Tension pneumopericardium in blunt thoracic trauma. Int J Surg Case Rep. 2016;24:188-90. doi: 10.1016/j.ijscr.2016.04.052.
2. 2. Mindaye ET, Arayia A, Tufa TH, Bekele M. İatrogenic pneumopericardium after tube thoracostomy: A case report. Int J Surg Case Rep. 2020;76:259-62. doi: 10.1016/j.ijscr.2020.10.006. Epub 2020 Oct 8.
3. 3. El Haj Chehade A, Debal G, Mansour W, Avula A, Chalhoub M. Pneumopericardium, pneumomediastinum and air travel: A case report in a patient with Gardner syndrome. Respir Med Case Rep. 2020 Oct 25;31:101271. doi: 10.1016/j.rmcr.2020.101271. eCollection 2020.
4. 4. Ozerkan F, Bilgin M, Oktem MS, Alkan MB. [Pneumopericardium after pericardiocentesis: a case report]. Turk Kardiyol Dern Ars. 2011 Dec;39(8):697-700. doi: 10.5543/tkda.2011.01699.
5. 5. Lamba A, Dutta R, Chand RK. Pneumopericardium after minimally invasive atrial septal defect closure. Ann Card Anaesth. 2018;21(1):99-100. doi: 10.4103/aca.ACA_37_17.
6. 6. Rohan Anand, Steven E. Brooks Md Facs 2, Yana Puckett 3, Robyn E Richmond 1, Catherine A Ronaghan. Pneumopericardium Resulting From Blunt Thoracic Trauma. Cureus. 2020.22;12(11):e11625. doi: 10.7759/cureus.11625.
7. 7. Hirani S, Carol S, Martinez V, Patan S, Kavanaugh M. Cancer-Related Pneumopericardium: A Case Report and Literature Review. Case Reports in Oncology. 2020,20;13(1):23-8. doi: 10.1159/000504935.
8. 8. Bayramoğlu A, Günaydın ZY, Bektaş O, Karagöz A, Ömürotlu Y. Spontaneous pneumopericardium in a pregnant woman. Anatol J Cardiol. 2016 Jan; 16(1): 66–7. doi: 10.14744/AnatolJCardiol.2015.6722

9. 9. Mishra B, Joshi MK, Rattan A, Kumar S, Gupta A, Sagar S. Pneumopericardium. Bull Emerg Trauma. 2016 Oct;4(4):250-1.
10. 10. Petteruti F, Stassano P, De Luca G, Di Tommaso L, Luciano A, Pepino P. Tension pneumopericardium and pneumothorax during spontaneous ventilation. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2007 Mar;133(3):829-30. doi: 10.1016/j.jtcvs.2006.11.008.
11. 11. Iskander S, Amar H, Audrey B, Fabien D. Pneumopericardium: A Rare Complication of Pericardiocentesis. J Cardiovasc Ultrasound. 2016 Mar;24(1):55-9. doi: 10.4250/jcu.2016.24.1.55. Epub 2016 Mar 24.
12. 12. Capizzi PJ, Martin M, Bannon MP. Tension pneumopericardium following blunt injury. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 1995;39:775–80.