CARDIAC TAMPONADE: HEMOPERICARDIUM-RELATED FATALITIES IN ISTANBUL, TURKEY

Öz

Objective: Bleeding into the pericardial sac may occur from the surface or the cavities of the heart, or from the intrapericardial segments of the roots of great vessels, particularly the aorta and pulmonary artery. In most cases, the cause of hemoperikardium is a natural disease such as a ruptured myocardial infarct or a ruptured dissecting aneurysm of the aorta but it is also a sequel to the trauma of the chest. Methods: Retrospective analysis of autopsy records of the Council of Forensic Medicine between the years 2004–2006 revealed 117 fatalities resulting from cardiac tamponade. Results: Of the cases 87 (74.36 %) were males and 30 females (25.64 %). The preponderance of male cases was prominent in both natural and traumatic death cases but was significantly apparent in traumatic cases. The origin of the hemopericardium was natural disease in 69 (58.97 %) of total 117 cases. In 48 (41.01 %) cases it was resulted from trauma. Localization of the rupture in tamponade cases showed the following distribution: the most frequent site of rupture in natural death cases was left ventricle (20; 28.98 %), in traumatic cases it was right ventricle (28; 58.33 %). Volume of blood in pericardial sac ranged between 350 and 1300 cc. Conclusion: In cases of stab wounds and gunshot fatalities the localizations of the wounds leading to injury in target organs were detected to be at left side of the chest in 79 % of the cases.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Cardiac tamponade
• Hemopericardium
• Blunt trauma

Kaynakça

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