Diagnosis of posttraumatic pericardial tamponade by plain film and computed tomography and control of bleeding by embolotherapy of the left inferior phrenic artery.

A 21-year-old male developed pericardial tamponade in a delayed fashion after blunt chest trauma. Tamponade was not suspected clinically and was first seen on computed tomography of the abdomen. Plain films of the chest revealed distortion of the path of a Swan-Ganz catheter due to the ventricular compression. After drainage, left inferior phrenic artery embolization was performed to treat the persistent hemothorax.