title: Atrial fibrillation induced by commotio cordis secondary to a blunt chest trauma in a teenage boy.
abstract: Low-energy blunt chest trauma can cause commotio cordis and ventricular fibrillation (VF) in otherwise healthy young individuals. If the chest wall impact occurs during a narrow vulnerable window of ventricular repolarization, the generated premature ventricular impulse can lead to VF and sudden death. Atrial fibrillation (AF) in association with a blunt chest trauma has not yet been reported in a child or adolescent. Our case describes a healthy 16-year-old boy who suffered blunt chest trauma during football practice. He was found to have AF, which resolved in 3 days without any therapy. He did not have any identifiable structural or electrical cardiac abnormality and had no previous history of arrhythmia. We hypothesize that AF, similar to commotio cordis-induced VF, may occur as a result of a blunt chest trauma in healthy young individuals. Animal studies evaluating arrhythmias related to chest wall impact may elucidate the timing and mechanism of AF induced by commotio cordis.
authors.affiliation: John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai'i, Honolulu, Hawaii; and.
authors.forename: Kyle
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ota
authors.affiliation: John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai'i, Honolulu, Hawaii; and Kapi'olani Medical Specialists, Hawai'i Pacific Health, Honolulu, Hawaii ibrati@me.com.
authors.forename: Andras
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bratincsak
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000209:etiology*; D056104:Commotio Cordis / Q000150:complications* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013898:Thoracic Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000150:complications*
keywords: atrial fibrillation; chest trauma; commotio cordis; electrocardiogram