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. 2019 Oct 21;3(4):327-328.
doi: 10.5811/cpcem.2019.9.43991. eCollection 2019 Nov.

Arrow to the Chest

Sherab Wangdi  1 , Shankar LeVine  2 , Melanie Watts  2
Affiliations

Arrow to the Chest

Sherab Wangdi et al. Clin Pract Cases Emerg Med. .

Abstract

A 33-year-old male was brought to the emergency department after a penetrating arrow injury to the chest. Initial evaluation revealed the arrow was penetrating the sternum, lung, and aortic arch. Because the patient was in a remote area, timely transfer to a specialized center for definitive operative repair was delayed approximately 24 hours. Treatment was focused on minimizing risk of hemorrhage with tight blood pressure control, while tube thoracostomy was deferred to avoid a change in intrathoracic pressure. The left-sided hemothorax was monitored with serial point-of-care ultrasounds. Ultimately he was successfully transferred and underwent successful surgical intervention.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: By the CPC-EM article submission agreement, all authors are required to disclose all affiliations, funding sources and financial or management relationships that could be perceived as potential sources of bias. The authors disclosed none.

Figures

Image 1
Image 1
The path of the arrow can be seen, initially penetrating the sternum and anterior lung and ultimately lodging in the aortic arch (arrow).
Image 2
Image 2
The black arrow reveals the depth of the arrow extending through the aortic arch.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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