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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2003;24:461-462
© 2003 Elsevier Science NL

Case report

Rapid atrial fibrillation following tube thoracostomy insertion

Department of Anesthesiology, Rambam Medical Center, Haifa 31096, Israel

Received 2 April 2003; received in revised form 29 April 2003; accepted 12 May 2003.

^* Corresponding author. Department of Anesthesiology, Rambam Medical Center, Haifa 31096, Israel. Tel.: +972-4-854-2241; fax: +972-4-854-2961
e-mail: michal_8{at}hotmail.com

We report a case of trauma patient, whose heart rhythm and rate changed from sinus tachycardia to rapid atrial fibrillation. The change occurred immediately after the insertion of left thoracostomy tube. The patient did not respond to pharmacological treatment. Only when the tube was pulled out, the rhythm returned to sinus. Chest radiogram shows the position of the tube, in close proximity to the cardiac silhouette.

Key Words: Chest trauma • Tube thoracostomy • Rapid atrial fibrillation • Chest X-ray