[The assessment of cardiac involvement in a case of a thoracic injury from a firearm]

Abstract

We report the case of a patient with a gunshot wound in the chest with a multiple small-caliber intrathoracic projectiles. The different noninvasive techniques employed to evaluate the anatomical location of these projectiles are discussed, together with their cardiac structural repercussions. The data provided by a simple chest X-ray, Computed Tomography (CT) and transthoracic echocardiography are commented on. A simple chest X-ray was unable to discern the location of the projectiles, in contrast to CT, which was able to identify both the number of projectiles and their location. The information provided was enhanced by transthoracic echocardiography, particularly in relation to those projectiles situated in anterior cardiac regions.