title: Post-traumatic left ventricular aneurysm with massive hemopericardium in a child presenting 3 years after a fall.
abstract: A 7-year-old boy developed a left ventricular aneurysm with massive hemopericardium 3 years ago due to a fall from a fourth-floor window. He had mild neurological sequelae including cranial nerve III palsy and abnormal electroencephalography findings at that time. He had no chest pain until recently when he presented with chest tightness and abdominal pain for 2 days prior to admission. Chest X-ray showed marked cardiomegaly. Echocardiography revealed massive pericardial effusion and a large left ventricular aneurysm. The massive hemopericardium was surgically drained, and the aneurysm was resected under cardiopulmonary bypass. He was discharged uneventfully 1 week after operation. Because symptoms and signs can vary in patients with ventricular aneurysm, we strongly suggest a close clinical follow-up, preferably with chest X-ray or echocardiography, for patients experiencing a blunt chest trauma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wei-Ting
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Shan-Miao
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Shyr-Jao
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Haw-Kwei
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Chun-Chih
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Ming-Ren
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls; D002648:Child; D004452:Echocardiography; D006322:Heart Aneurysm / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D006352:Heart Ventricles; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010490:Pericardial Effusion / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: child; hemopericardium; left ventricular aneurysm; trauma