Tension Viscerothorax in a Patient with Missed Traumatic Diaphragmatic Hernia. A Case Report

Herbert Butana, Ntawunga Laurance, Desire Rubanguka and Isaie Sibomana
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Herbert Butana: Rwamagana Hospital, Rwanda.
Ntawunga Laurance: University of Rwanda, Rwanda.
Desire Rubanguka: King Faisal Hospital, Rwanda.
Isaie Sibomana: University of Rwanda, Rwanda.

European Journal of Medical and Health Sciences, 2020, vol. 2, issue 2

Abstract: Background: Diaphragmatic hernias occurring post trauma are a challenge to diagnose early especially when they follow blunt trauma. Many of those diagnosed early occur in penetrating thoraco-abdominal trauma which necessitates emergency exploration where the diagnosis is picked. Rarity of traumatic diaphragmatic hernia coupled with poor sensitivity of easily available imaging modalities makes it a big challenge to pick up this potentially fatal pathology. Case presentation: We present a rare case of tension viscerothorax in a young man who had presented to the emergency department at a provincial hospital of Rwanda three days before the second consultation where the chest x-ray was interpreted as normal and later as a pneumothorax before the diagnosis and treatment of tension viscerothorax could be made. Conclusion: Viscerothorax is an elusive diagnosis which when missed can complicate to strangulation of hernia contents or tension viscerothorax which carry a high mortality.

Keywords: tension viscerothorax; trauma; diaphragmatic hernia; Rwanda. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:epw:ejmed0:v:2:y:2020:i:2:id:40181

DOI: 10.24018/ejmed.2020.2.2.181

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