Coronary Artery Dissection: An Unusual Cause of Hypoxia in Blunt Trauma

Abstract

A 41-year-old motocross rider sustained blunt trauma to the chest following a collision with another rider. He was initially hypoxic and was given oxygen with a non-rebreather mask. He complained of chest pain. A prehospital extended focused assessment with sonography in trauma (eFAST) scan was negative for pneumothorax, but demonstrated a hypokinetic left ventricle. An electrocardiogram (ECG) in the emergency department confirmed anterior myocardial infarction, found to be due to a traumatic left anterior descending coronary artery dissection. This case highlights a rare but life-threatening cause of hypoxia in blunt chest trauma.

Keywords: :

• traumatic coronary dissection
• LAD
• prehospital
• hypoxia
• chest trauma