Repeat Point-of-Care Echocardiographic Evaluation of Traumatic Cardiac Arrest: A New Paradigm for the Emergency Physician

Abstract

We report a case of a 52-year-old man who presented to the emergency department (ED) in extremis (hypotensive with an altered sensorium) with subsequent cardiac arrest after a motor vehicle collision. The initial trauma evaluation did not reveal a source of the hemodynamic compromise. A point-of-care ultrasound revealed severe mitral regurgitation secondary to an anterolateral papillary muscle rupture. Patient underwent successful emergent mitral valve replacement after initial resuscitative efforts and intraaortic balloon pump placement.