Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29725818›Full record

ArticleForensic science, medicine, and pathology2018

Thoracic trauma in fatal falls from height - Traumatic pneumopericardium correlates with height of fall and severe injury.

Jakob Heimer, Dominic Gascho, Michael J Thali, Wolf Schweitzer

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Forensic science, medicine, and pathology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 31% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. The current state of forensic imaging - post mortem imaging.International journal of legal medicine · 2025
    Review
  4. Pneumopericardium, a Heart in a Trap.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024
    Article
  5. [Blunt force trauma in forensic radiology].Radiologie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2024
    Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Jakob HeimerDepartment of Forensic Medicine and Imaging, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190/52, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland. Jakob.Heimer@irm.uzh.ch.ORCID 0000-0003-3499-8801
Dominic GaschoDepartment of Forensic Medicine and Imaging, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190/52, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
Michael J ThaliDepartment of Forensic Medicine and Imaging, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190/52, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
Wolf SchweitzerDepartment of Forensic Medicine and Imaging, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190/52, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
University of Zurich · CH

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Pneumopericardium (PPC) describes the collection of gas in the pericardial sac. In tension Pneumopericardium (tPPC), this collection of gas may lead to cardiac tamponade. PPC following blunt trauma is considered a rare finding, as reflected by the low number of case reports on the topic. We analyzed the prevalence and pathophysiology of PPC and the associated trauma in 44 cases of falls from height. We retrospectively analyzed postmortem CT data and autopsy reports of fatal falls in the period March 2014-2017. A valid estimation of the height of the fall and a documented impact on an even and hard surface were inclusion criteria. A total of 44 cases were included in the study. We identified PPC in 18 of the 44 cases, and it was associated with an increased height of the fall, alongside aortic, pericardial, and myocardial ruptures. All cases with PPC also presented with bilateral pneumothorax. Five cases presented with a "ballooning" pericardium, indicating tPPC. PPC is a common finding in cases of falls from great heights. Due to a significant correlation with height and thus impact severity, PPC may be used as a reconstructive element in medico-legal investigations. Association with trauma makes PPC a sign of severe thoracic injury in postmortem and clinical radiology.

Indexed as

Accidental FallsAccidentsSuicideAdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overAortic RuptureChildFemaleForensic PathologyFractures, BoneHeart InjuriesHemothoraxHumansLung InjuryFalls from heightsPneumopericardiumPostmortem computed tomographyTension pneumopericardiumThoracic trauma

Identifiers

PMID29725818
OpenAlexW2802525721

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.