title: Penetrating Cardiac Nail Gun Injury in a Child.
abstract: Nail gun injuries primarily occur in the extremities of adult males as a consequence of accidental occupational trauma. Such injury involving the thorax is much less common, and penetrating cardiac injury secondary to pneumatic nail gun discharge is rare. Although potentially lethal, most cases with cardiac trauma are survivable with expedient surgical intervention. Despite improvements in engineered safety mechanisms, the incidence of nail gun injuries has risen as use of the devices has increased. The widespread availability of these tools to nonprofessional consumers exposes a broader population to the potential hazards associated with these devices. We describe the presentation and successful management of the first reported case of penetrating cardiac nail gun injury in a young child.
authors.affiliation: From the Departments of *Surgery and †Pediatrics, The Pennsylvania State University, College of Medicine, Hershey, PA.
authors.forename: Afif N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Kulaylat
authors.forename: Charles H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chesnut
authors.forename: Sunil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: Dorothy V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Rocourt
authors.forename: Joseph B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Clark
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D003252:Construction Materials / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D005389:Firearms; D006335:Heart Injuries / Q000209:etiology*; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000293:injuries*; D006801:Humans; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000209:etiology*