[Delayed Cardiac Tamponade After Blunt Chest Trauma]

Delayed cardiac tamponade following blunt chest trauma is a rare incident, and we provide a report including a literature review for further discussion. The patient is a 56-year-old male. He fell off a motorcycle and sustained contusions to the left side of his chest. He presented to our emergency department. His consciousness was clear and vital signs were normal. Computed tomography (CT) scan revealed multiple left rib fractures, left hemothorax, and left pulmonary contusion, but no pericardial effusion was detected. He returned home, and stayed at rest for a few days. He walked for 15 minutes on the third day after the injury, and he felt unwell and visited our emergency department again in a state of shock. Echocardiography and CT scan revealed significant amount of pericardial effusion, and emergency surgery was indicated. At surgery, bleeding site near the left ventricule (LV) apex was identified and hemostasis was achieved through median sternotomy. We should be careful of delayed cardiac tamponade after blunt chest trauma.