Two cases of penetrating left ventricular cardiac trauma: Pre-hospital ultrasound and direct to theatre

• Main Authors: Paul Hanley, Joshua Holden, Tamara Johnson, Alan Garner, Andrew Weatherall
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2019-06-01
• Series: Trauma Case Reports
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352644019300238
• ISSN: 2352-6440

Left ventricular (LV) Cardiac penetrating trauma is a rare and grave injury.In cases of penetrating cardiac trauma, pre-hospital Ultrasound by flight doctors can assist identify specific pathology. This pre-hospital triage has now been linked to a change in both pre-hospital and in-hospital management.There are minimal cases reported where Pre-Hospital ultrasound provided definitive diagnosis and, while providing Pre-Hospital blood transfusion, informed a direct to theatre approach. In 2017 in New South Wales, Australia, a new protocol “Code Crimson” has been introduced to formalise a system wide process where Pre-Hospital medical teams can expedite a straight to Theatre approach. Keywords: Left ventricle, Penetrating trauma, Trauma, Pre-hospital, Ultrasound