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Needle embolus causing cardiac puncture and chronic constrictive pericarditis

S A LeMaire¹, M J Wall, K L Mattox

¹Department of Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Ben Taub General Hospital, Houston, Texas, USA.

The Annals of Thoracic Surgery

|July 1, 1998

Summary

A broken needle from intravenous injection lodged in the heart, causing constrictive pericarditis and heart failure. Surgical removal proved successful, highlighting the importance of early intervention for intrapericardial foreign bodies.

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Area of Science:

Cardiology
Cardiovascular Surgery
Medical Case Reports

Background:

Intravenous injections carry risks, including accidental foreign body introduction.
Foreign bodies migrating to the heart can lead to severe cardiac complications.

Observation:

A case is presented where a needle broke during intravenous injection and embolized to the right heart.
The embolized needle perforated the cardiac wall, entered the pericardial space, and caused chronic constrictive pericarditis.

Findings:

The patient presented with symptoms of congestive heart failure secondary to constrictive pericarditis.
Surgical intervention involving pericardectomy and foreign body removal via median sternotomy was successfully performed.

Implications:

Related Experiment Videos

Early surgical removal of intrapericardial foreign bodies is crucial for preventing serious cardiac complications.
This case underscores the importance of meticulous technique during procedures involving needles and the potential for delayed sequelae.