Article ID: 36.3_06
A 74-year-old man lost consciousness while driving his car and was wearing his seat belt. This led to a collision in which the front airbag was activated. He was transported to the hospital by medical helicopter (Doctor Heli). CT revealed a sternal fracture, internal thoracic artery injury, and multiple lumbar vertebral compression fractures. Transcatheter internal thoracic artery embolization was performed. After admission, his blood creatine phosphokinase level increased over time, with progression of metabolic acidosis and hyperlactatemia. This was followed by cardiac arrest and return of spontaneous circulation, leading to intestinal ischemia. The patient died on the fourth day of hospitalization. CT during the clinical course suggested bilateral lower limb muscle infarction due to thoracic aortogenic embolism. We report a rare case of extensive muscle infarction due to aortogenic embolism caused by blunt chest trauma from an airbag and seatbelt.
