Trauma-related pneumopericardium: A literature review

Abstract

Trauma-related pneumopericardium (TRPP) is the collection of air in the pericardial space secondary to trauma, potentially leading to tension pneumopericardium (TPP) in which the entrapment of air generates sufficient pressure to compromise cardiac output leading to a life-threatening cardiac tamponade and circulatory failure. We aim to classify the diagnostic and therapeutic approaches of TRPP and the causes of the subsequent development of TPP. A computer-based search of all published reports on TRPP in the medical literature from database inception to March 2020, on MEDLINE, Ovid, and Scopus; analyzing the data regarding initial status at presentation, extent of injuries, diagnostic and treatment measures with the intention to have an understanding of the clinical behavior and management outcomes of TRPP. The search identified 84 published case reports of 105 patients with TRPP. In conclusion, TRPP leading to TPP is described in the literature as a condition that involves a young male who is subjected to blunt trauma, most commonly in a motor vehicle collision, presenting as a polytrauma patient in a state of shock and low systolic blood pressure, or possibly in cardiac arrest. In addition, he might have a tracheobronchial injury with or without pneumothorax or pneumomediastinum and might require mechanical ventilation.