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Case Reports
. 1998 Jun;65(6):1786-7.
doi: 10.1016/s0003-4975(98)00246-x.

Needle embolus causing cardiac puncture and chronic constrictive pericarditis

S A LeMaire  1 , M J Wall Jr, K L Mattox
Affiliations
Case Reports

Needle embolus causing cardiac puncture and chronic constrictive pericarditis

S A LeMaire et al. Ann Thorac Surg. 1998 Jun.

Abstract

We present a case in which a needle broke off during intravenous injection and embolized to the right heart. After cardiac perforation, the needle entered the pericardial space and ultimately caused chronic constrictive pericarditis, which presented as congestive heart failure. Pericardectomy and removal of the foreign body via a median sternotomy were successful. Early surgical removal of contaminated intrapericardial foreign bodies remains a safe and effective approach to preventing such complications.

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