Abstract
IntroductionCommotio cordisis a rare event that occurs following blunt, non-penetrating trauma to the chest, precipitating a ventricular arrhythmia.Commotio cordisrequires immediate medical attention through cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation, often resulting in death.Commotio cordisis most common condition among young male athletes. The purpose of this study was to describe the incidents and patterns ofcommotio cordisamong young athletes participating in organised sports in the USA from academic years 1982-1983 through 2022-2023.MethodsThis was a retrospective, descriptive epidemiology study using surveillance data from the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research. The study included allcommotio cordisincidents captured in the database. We calculated descriptive statistics (counts and proportions) overall and stratified by outcome and athlete sport.ResultsOver the study period, 64 incidents of commotio cordis were captured. The majority occurred among males (n=60) and were caused by contact with an object/apparatus (n=39) or contact with another player (n=20). The most common sports were baseball (n=20), lacrosse (n=17) and football (n=13). Over half of these incidents resulted in death (n=34), although survival fromcommotio cordisincreased over the study period. A higher proportion of fatal incidents occurred among football athletes and were caused by contact with another player.ConclusionsCommotio cordisremains most common among young male athletes who participate in organised baseball, lacrosse and football. Although survival has improved over time, greater awareness and emergency preparedness forcommotio cordisin an organised sport are needed to facilitate prompt recognition and intervention.