Traumatic severe tricuspid regurgitation diagnosis after the progression of right ventricle function deterioration

Traumatic tricuspid regurgitation is a rare complication of blunt cardiac injury and frequently misdiagnosed during the initial assessment. Unfortunately, it may be diagnosed after deterioration of right ventricle function, which may be fatal to the patient. Here, we report a case of a patient with blunt chest injury complicated by a diagnosis of traumatic severe tricuspid regurgitation after deterioration of the right ventricle function even after the patient was subjected to serum cardiac enzyme normalization. The patient was a driver and admitted to the hospital owing to multiple traumatic injuries. Echocardiography was performed suspicious of blunt cardiac injury, which revealed no abnormal findings. Initial cardiac enzyme levels were high, but after serial follow-up, the levels improved. However, on day 4 of hospitalization, hemodynamic deterioration occurred owing to severe tricuspid regurgitation and delayed right ventricle dysfunction. Immediate tricuspid valve replacement was performed, however, the patient had a pronged recovery period. We believe that it is important to take into account the nature of the accident and the presentation of clinical signs and symptoms and not be blinded by laboratory test results alone; it is also important to consider performing repeated serial echocardiographic examinations for blunt cardiac injury patients.