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.