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Heart and Great Vessels

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Trauma Computed Tomography

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Abstract

The management of cardiac and great vessel trauma has improved significantly due to advances in medical transportation, use of emergency thoracotomy, advancements in cardiovascular surgery techniques, and application of diagnostic imaging. Mechanisms of trauma to the heart and great vessels may be categorized as blunt or penetrating. The most common cause of substantial blunt chest trauma is motor vehicle collision, and the most common cause of penetrating chest trauma are gunshot and stab wounds. CT is invaluable in evaluating injury to the heart and great vessels. When there is suspicion of injury to the heart and great vessels, the preferred examinations are electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated CT of the chest without contrast followed by ECG-gated CT angiogram of the chest with arterial phase reconstruction.

Additionally, multiphase ECG-gated CT of the heart may be of value in the appropriate clinical context.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Laura De León Benedetti & Raisa Amiruddin

  2. Department of Radiology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Abass M. Noor

Authors
  1. Laura De León Benedetti
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  2. Raisa Amiruddin
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  3. Abass M. Noor
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Correspondence to Abass M. Noor .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Imaging, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Friedrich Knollmann

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Benedetti, L.D.L., Amiruddin, R., Noor, A.M. (2023). Heart and Great Vessels. In: Knollmann, F. (eds) Trauma Computed Tomography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-45746-3_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-45746-3_6

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