Delayed traumatic cardiac tamponade: An extremely rare sequela of blunt trauma

Abstract

To our knowledge, there have been minimal information on the delayed traumatic cardiac tamponade, which is an extremely rare but a life-threatening condition if not treated promptly. We present a 25-year-old female who had cardiac tamponade of delayed onset after a motor vehicle crash. It was found on a computed tomography scan of the chest, and confirmed on subsequent echocardiography. Urgent operation of creation of pericardial window was performed. She made a good recovery after the operative intervention. The current report emphasises the importance of having high index of suspicion in patients with non-penetrating multi-trauma with careful observation and appropriate investigations.