Optimal treatment for blunt trauma patients with cardiopulmonary arrest: An account of a successful case and review of the literature

Abstract

Introduction: Prognosis of cardiopulmonary arrest occurring in patients with blunt trauma is very poor; patients rarely recover from this condition. We either do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation or terminate it after some time in blunt trauma–cardiopulmonary arrest cases. We presented a rare case of successful resuscitation of a patient with blunt trauma–cardiopulmonary arrest. Case presentation: A 54-year-old man was admitted to our emergency department after being injured in a traffic accident. The patient suffered from ventricular fibrillation, and spontaneous circulation was restored by a defibrillator. The estimated arrest time was 20 min. Discussion: On arrival of our emergency department, the patient showed intra-abdominal hemorrhage and we performed emergency surgery; 10 days after admission, the patient suffered from pulseless ventricular tachycardia—coronary angiography was performed, which revealed that the patient had coronary artery stenosis. Conclusion: We experienced trauma patients concealed with coronary artery stenosis. In traumatic arrest with ventricular fibrillation, it may be due to a medical reason, and more prolonged and intensive resuscitation may be considered.