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Swallowed a needle stuck in heart
Mustafa Yolcu1, Ahmet Aydın2, Ali Fuat Korkmaz2
1Department of Cardiology, Erzurum Region Training and Research Hospital, Erzurum, Turkey. yolcudoctor@gmail.com.
Insights
Cardiac tamponade, a life-threatening condition caused by fluid buildup around the heart, requires prompt diagnosis and treatment. This case highlights a rare cause: accidental sewing needle ingestion.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Emergency Medicine
Background:
- Cardiac tamponade (CT) is a critical condition characterized by hemodynamic compromise due to increased intrapericardial pressure.
- It is a treatable cause of cardiogenic shock, necessitating rapid diagnosis to prevent fatality.
Observation:
- Clinical signs include dyspnea, hypotension, tachycardia, pulsus paradoxus, and muffled heart sounds.
- Etiologies range from pericarditis and trauma to malignancy and systemic diseases.
Findings:
- This report details a unique case of cardiac tamponade surgically treated after a patient ingested a sewing needle.
Implications:
- This case underscores the importance of considering unusual foreign body ingestion in the differential diagnosis of cardiac tamponade.
- Highlights the need for thorough patient history and diagnostic workup in emergent cardiac conditions.
Abstract:
Cardiac tamponade (CT) is a clinical entity characterized by hemodynamic insufficiency resulting from increased intrapericardial pressure due to accumulation of contents such as serous fluid, blood, and pus. CT is a treatable cause of cardiogenic shock, which can be fatal unless diagnosed promptly. Dyspnea, chest pain, hypotension, tachycardia, pulsus paradoxus, raised jugular venous pressure, muffled heart sounds, decreased electrocardiographic voltage, and enlarged cardiac silhouette on chest X-ray are the major clinical signs in CT. Idiopathic or viral pericardititis, iatrogenic trauma during percutaneous coronary interventions or coronary artery bypass grafting, external trauma, malignancies, acute or chronic kidney disease, collagen vascular diseases, tuberculosis, radiation on the chest wall, hypothyroidism and aortic dissection are the etiologic factors. Herein, we present a case of surgically treated CT, which was diagnosed in the third day of ingestion of a sewing needle.