Pericardio-diaphragmatic rupture following blunt abdominal trauma: Case report and review of literature

Bassem Abou Hussein; Ali Khammas; Hadiel Kaiyasah; Abeer Swaleh; Nazim Al Rifai; Alya Al-Mazrouei; Faisal Badri

doi:10.1016/j.ijscr.2015.12.041

Pericardio-diaphragmatic rupture following blunt abdominal trauma: Case report and review of literature

Int J Surg Case Rep. 2016:19:168-70. doi: 10.1016/j.ijscr.2015.12.041. Epub 2015 Dec 29.

Authors

Bassem Abou Hussein¹, Ali Khammas², Hadiel Kaiyasah², Abeer Swaleh², Nazim Al Rifai², Alya Al-Mazrouei², Faisal Badri²

Affiliations

¹ General Surgery Department, Rashid Hospital, Dubai Health Authority, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Electronic address: bassem.abouhussein@gmail.com.
² General Surgery Department, Rashid Hospital, Dubai Health Authority, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Abstract

Introduction: Traumatic diaphragmatic rupture (TDR) occurs in 0-5% of patients with major blunt thoraco-abdominal trauma, in most of them on the left side, and an early correct diagnosis is made in less than half of the cases (Meyers and McCabe, 1993; Ball et al., 1982).

Presentation of the case: We report a case of a forty-eight years old man who had a pericardio-diaphragmatic rupture after a high-velocity blunt abdominal trauma that was diagnosed and treated successfully.

Discussion: Pericardio-diaphragmatic rupture (PDR) is an uncommon problem that poses a diagnostic challenge to surgeons. The incidence of PDR is between 0.2% and 3.3% of cases with TDR (Sharma, 1999 [3]).

Conclusion: PDR should be suspected in any patient with high velocity thoraco-abdominal trauma. Early diagnosis is essential and needs a high index of suspicion. Early Management is important in decreasing morbidity and mortality.

Keywords: Diaphram; Pericardium; Rupture; Trauma.