Reassessing the cardiac box: A comprehensive evaluation of the relationship between thoracic gunshot wounds and cardiac injury

Abstract

Background: High energy missiles can cause cardiac injury regardless of entrance site. This study assesses the adequacy of the anatomic borders of the current “cardiac box” to predict cardiac injury. Methods: Retrospective autopsy review was performed to identify patients with penetrating torso gunshot wounds 2011-2013. Using a circumferential grid system around the thorax, logistic regression analysis was performed to detect differences in rates of cardiac injury from entrance/exit wounds in the “cardiac box” vs. the same for entrance/exit wounds outside the box. Analysis was repeated to identify regions to compare risk of cardiac injury between the current cardiac box and other regions of the thorax. Results: Over the study period, 263 patients (89% male, mean age = 34 years, median injuries/person = 2) sustained 735 wounds [80% gunshot wounds (GSWs], and 239 patients with 620 GSWs were identified for study. Of these, 95 (34%) injured the heart. Of the 257 GSWs entering the cardiac box, 31% caused cardiac injury while 21% GSWs outside the cardiac box (n = 67) penetrated the heart, suggesting that the current “cardiac box” is a poor predictor of cardiac injury relative to the thoracic non-"cardiac box" regions [Relative Risk (RR) 0.96; p=0.82]. The regions from the anterior to posterior midline of the left thorax provided the highest positive predictive value (41%) with high sensitivity (90%) while minimizing false positives making this region the most statistically significant discriminator of cardiac injury (RR 2.9; p=0.01).

Conclusion: For GSWs, the current cardiac box is inadequate to discriminate whether a gunshot wound will cause a cardiac injury. As expected, entrance wounds nearest to the heart are the most likely to result in cardiac injury, but, from a clinical standpoint, it is best to think outside the “box” for GSWs to the thorax.