A rare case of a right ventricular Pseudo-aneurysm, related to an attempted suicide

Abstract

We present the case of a 74-year-old female who attempted suicide by stabbing repeatedly with a nail scissor in the sub-sternal chest.Chest Computed Tomography (CT) performed at her arrival at our emergency department detected the presence of massive pericardial effusion. A follow-up cardiac CT after the pericardial drainage showed a Pseudo-aneurysm of the anterior wall of the right ventricle. < Learning objective: The evidence of post-traumatic right ventricular pseudo-aneurysm is a rare finding. Due to the challenge of diagnosis and potential fatality of this rare condition, it is important to be aware of its occurrence and to refine its recognition with imaging examinations. >

Right ventricular pseudoaneurysm repair and fibrin pericardiectomy after a fall from height in a young male patient

“…If a cardiac rupture is not containing whole cardiac layers, pseudoaneurysm formation occurs. [2] Noninvasive tests such as two-dimensional echocardiography and, more recently, three-dimensional echocardiography may be useful for detecting Doppler activity, or the same can be accomplished by echocardiographic contrast. Transesophageal echocardiography could be more beneficial for the evaluation of posterior cardiac segments due to its increased sensitivity compared to TTE.…”

“…Cardiac MRI and CT can be performed to assess the structural relationships of the cardiac aneurysms or pseudoaneurysms detected in the echocardiography. [2,4] The majority of ventricular aneurysms occur in the left ventricle. [4] In addition, RV aneurysms are more frequently located in the RV outflow tract due to prior congenital heart operations.…”

“…Right ventricular (RV) pseudoaneurysms are rare, particularly due to traumatic events, but could be fatal for patients, [1,2] Ischemic heart diseases are the most common reason; additionally, infections, previous cardiac operations, blunt traumas, pericardiocentesis, epicardial lead extraction, and transcatheter valve replacement are among other causes. [1][2][3][4][5] Right ventricular aneurysms are only encountered in 1 to 3% of all cardiac aneurysms in pathological series. In addition, most of these RV aneurysms occurred in the RV outflow tract due to prior congenital operations.…”