Myocardial dysfunction following blunt chest trauma

D. P. Harley, I. Mena, R. Miranda and R. J. Nelson

We prospectively studied 35 patients with blunt chest trauma using ECG multi-gated and first-pass nuclear angiography. Radionuclide angiography (RNA) is a sensitive test of myocardial function demonstrating right and left ventricular ejection fractions. First-pass angiography, in addition, shows left ventricular segmental wall motion, a qualitative as well as anatomic indicator of left ventricular function. We saw RNA abnormalities in 26 patients (74.2%). Eight patients (22.8%) had ECG abnormalities, and these findings correlated with RNA, suggesting that this technique is a very sensitive indicator of myocardial dysfunction following trauma. These studies warrant further experimental and clinical evaluations to determine the cause, significance, and long-term prognosis of posttraumatic myocardial dysfunction.