The American surgeon
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The American surgeon · Jun 1994
Two-dimensional echocardiogram in hemodynamically stable victims of penetrating precordial trauma.
Hemodynamically stable patients with penetrating precordial trauma present a diagnostic dilemma. Previous reports utilizing subxiphoid pericardial windows as the diagnostic measure demonstrated negative rates ranging from 75-82%. In an effort to decrease the high rate of negative invasive procedures, the following study was undertaken. ⋯ Echocardiogram is a sensitive noninvasive method of evaluating hemodynamically stable victims of penetrating chest wounds in proximity to the heart.