de Araújo, A.O., Westphal F.L., de Lima, L.C., de Oliveira Correia, J., Gomes P.H., Costa, E.N., et al. (2018) Fatal Cardiac Trauma in the City of Manaus, Amazonas State, Brazil. Revista do Colégio Brasileiro de Cirurgioes, 45, 1-8.
https://doi.org/10.1590/0100-6991e-20181888

has been cited by the following article:

• TITLE: Lifesaving Emergency Sternotomy in Traumatic Cardiac Tamponade in a Teaching Hospital in Ghana: Survival of Two Rare Cases

  AUTHORS: Isaac Okyere, Samuel Gyasi Brenu, Perditer Okyere

  KEYWORDS: Median Sternotomy, Cardiac Tamponade, Chest Trauma, Emergency

  JOURNAL NAME: World Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery, Vol.10 No.3, March 27, 2020

  ABSTRACT: Introduction: Patients presenting with cardiac injuries from gunshot wounds and blunt chest trauma have high mortality, without any observed survival benefit when presenting with cardiac tamponade. Cardiac tamponade is a life-threatening hemodynamically significant compression of the heart by a sudden or gradual accumulation of collections in the pericardial space that incites and overrides the body’s compensatory mechanism. Clinical Case: We present and discuss the successful management and survival of two patients with traumatic cardiac tamponade from gunshot wounds to the precordium who underwent successful lifesaving median sternotomy at a Teaching Hospital in Ghana with a new Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery Unit. Discussion: Usually the diagnosis of cardiac tamponade from traumatic haemopericardium is made by clinical findings which though may not always be present especially after blunt chest trauma. EFAST is a reliable tool for diagnosing and following cardiac tamponade. Median sternotomy is the standard procedure in these patients to access and repair cardiac injury either with or without cardiopulmonary bypass. Conclusion: Emergency median sternotomy in patients with cardiac tamponade from chest trauma especially after EFAST diagnosis can be lifesaving even in less resourced centres.