Left atrial appendage rupture due to blunt chest trauma in an Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra).

A rare case of left atrial appendage rupture due to blunt chest trauma was documented in an adult male Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) found dead near a roadside. The necropsy, conducted as part of the RECAL project studying otters in Italy's Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park, revealed severe hemothorax, pulmonary contusions, and hemopericardium with no other cardiac abnormalities. This is the first veterinary report of such a traumatic injury, which is also life-threatening in humans. The finding underscores the need for veterinary emergency care to consider blunt thoracic injuries as potential causes of cardiac rupture.

Left atrial appendage rupture due to blunt chest trauma in an Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra). (2019). [JD]. Veterinaria Italiana, 3, 275–278. https://doi.org/10.12834/VetIt.872.4309.2