Myocardcontusie

Summary

A retrospective study was undertaken of 52 patients with a major chest injury admitted to the Intensive Care Unit in order to determine the incidence, clinical features and outcome of patients with myocardial contusion.

Electrocardiographic, enzymatic and routine echocardiographic data are not sufficient to allow an adequate diagnosis of myocardial contusion.

Data from the literature suggest that only radionuclide angiography and direct hemodynamic measurements are predictive of the severity of the myocardial injury and useful in the identification of the patients at greatest risk.