Bradycardia with traumatic hyphema in children.
Eleven patients, aged 4 to 18 years, who were admitted to the hospital with the diagnosis of traumatic hyphema were placed on 24-hour cardiac (Holter) monitors. Ten of the 11 patients had episodes of bradycardia and bradyarrhythmias. Blood pressures monitored during the same period showed that the bradycardia was not hemodynamically significant. Cardiac monitoring was repeated on six patients 3 months later, and nocturnal cardiac rhythms were compared; the minimum heart rates immediately following the eye injury were significantly lower (p = .03) than those measured 3 months later. While these data do not establish a relationship between bradyarrhythmias and the frequently-observed occurrence of somnolence, it does appear that episodes of bradyarrhythmias represent a common physiologic response to traumatic hyphema, and they can be expected to resolve spontaneously.
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary, Chicago.
J N
JN
Cohn
D
D
Scagliotti
T A
TA
Deutsch
D000293:Adolescent; D001919:Bradycardia / Q000209:etiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005131:Eye Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D006988:Hyphema / Q000150:complications*; D007429:Intraocular Pressure