Stabbing on Six Mile: A Case Report of Tension Pneumopericardium Following Penetrating Trauma

Abstract

This report details a rare case of cardiac tamponade due to traumatic pneumopericardium in a 27-year-old male. The patient presented to the emergency department in May 2021 as a Level 1 trauma activation due to multiple stab wounds, including one in the epigastric region, with tachycardia and hypotension. He was found to have significant pneumopericardium, resulting in tamponade physiology. The patient was emergently transferred to the operating room for a left anterolateral thoracotomy with pericardiotomy. He recovered well postoperatively without complications and was discharged home on postoperative day four.