Blunt Rupture of Left Ventricle Diagnosed Using Two Phase Contrast Enhanced CT: A Case Report

Cardiac rupture is rarely diagnosed in blunt chest trauma patients since 80% of patients die at the scene of the accident (1). However, immediate surgery can save up to 80% of the survivors (1-3). Detection of cardiac rupture relies mainly on clinical suspicion and echocardiography, especially transesophageal echocardiography (2, 3). In rare cases, leaking of the contrast material in hemopericardium patients can be detected on the initial CT examination, allowing early diagnosis of cardiac rupture (3-5). However, there have been no reports on early diagnosis of cardiac rupture using two phase contrast enhanced CT. Therefore, we report a case of a blunt traumatic rupture of the left ventricle wall using two phase contrast enhanced multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT).