Stab wound to the heart with cardiac tamponade — A case report

The rising incidences of violence nowadays have lead to increased cases of shootings and stabbings being reported. And among the stabbing cases, one of the frequently encountered are penetrating injuries to the heart, which is a highly lethal condition. If not treated promptly, more often than not results in death of the victim. In the scenario that the victim reaches the hospital, a number of factors come into consideration, which have a direct bearing on the outcome, for example, the physiologic state of the victim, involvement of other organs, location of injury, cardiac tamponade, etc. Among these presence of cardiac tamponade is a critical prognostic factor. Various studies have shown that a slow hemorrhage is much better tolerated as it can be gradually accommodated by the pericardium but any acute rise in intrapericardial pressure lead to a fatal effect in cardiac function and death. This scenario is discussed in the case being reported below.