Pneumopericardium associated with tracheal rupture. Management of a case complicated by the shock lung syndrome.

A case history of a patient with unusual injuries following blunt thoracic trauma is presented. There was a pneumopericardium, bilateral tension pneumothoraces and rupture of the thoracic trachea, and the shock lung syndrome developed. Some points which arose in the management of the case are discussed, and it is pointed out that such injuries may be missed and must be considered in all patients with thoracic trauma especially those who do not improve with routine therapy.