Signs and symptoms include chest and abdominal pain, difficulty breathing, and decreased lung sounds.

In people with herniation of abdominal organs, signs of intestinal blockage or sepsis in the abdomen may be present.

[6] Clinicians are trained to suspect diaphragmatic rupture particularly if penetrating trauma has occurred to the lower chest or upper abdomen.

[9] With penetrating trauma, the contents of the abdomen may not herniate into the chest cavity right away, but they may do so later, causing the presentation to be delayed.

[11] If ventilation of the lung on the side of the tear is severely inhibited, hypoxemia (low blood oxygen) results.

[12] Chest X-ray is known to be unreliable in diagnosing diaphragmatic rupture;[4] it has low sensitivity and specificity for the injury.

[4] A nasogastric tube from the stomach may appear on the film in the chest cavity; this sign is pathognomonic for diaphragmatic rupture, but it is rare.

[5] Positive pressure ventilation helps keep the abdominal organs from herniating into the chest cavity, but this also can prevent the injury from being discovered on an X-ray.

[4] Because laparotomies are more common in those with penetrating trauma than compared to those who experienced a blunt force injury, diaphragmatic rupture is found more often in these people.

[2] The main goals of surgery are to repair any injuries to the diaphragm and to move any herniated abdominal organs back to their original place.

[12] Other injuries, such as hemothorax, may present a more immediate threat and may need to be treated first if they accompany diaphragmatic rupture.

[6] The death rate (mortality) for diaphragmatic rupture after blunt and penetrating trauma is estimated to be 15–40% and 10–30% respectively, but other injuries play a large role in determining outcome.

[9] A high body mass index may be associated with a higher risk of diaphragmatic rupture in people involved in vehicle accidents.

[10]In 1579, Ambroise Paré made the first description of diaphragmatic rupture in a French artillery captain who had been shot eight months before his death.

[9] Diaphragmatic rupture is a common and well-known complication of blunt abdominal trauma in cats and dogs.

Is these cases, the organs that herniate may include the liver, small intestine, stomach, spleen, omentum, and/or uterus.

Symptoms include difficulty breathing, vomiting, collapse, and an absence of palpable organs in the abdomen.

Symptoms can worsen quickly and be lethal, especially in the case of severe bleeding, bruised heart, or strangulation of herniated intestine.

It is also possible that there may only be subtle signs, and the condition is only incidentally detected months to years after the injury during a medical scan.