Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome in Trauma: A Case Review

Buettner and Hutchinson report a case of an 18-year-old man who fell backward and struck his head while playing basketball at a school playground. An open thoracotomy was performed, and no blood was noted in the pericardial sac. The surgeons found bleeding from the azygos vein and attempted control of hemorrhage through vessel ligation. Resuscitation continued by use of open cardiac massage and internal cardiac defibrillation for brief periods of ventricular fibrillation. Unfortunately, the patient did not improve after nearly 60 minutes, and resuscitation efforts were terminated. The autopsy report confirmed the clinical diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type IV by physical assessment and patient and family history.