BACKGROUND Cardiac hemangioma is a rare cause for pericardial effusion. We present a case of hemangioendothelioma of the right atrial appendage associated with pericardial effusion in an infant. METHODS The patient was a 49-day-old infant transferred to our department because of the presence of pericardial effusion. Two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography revealed moderate pericardial ...

The commonest cause of a large fibrinous pericardial effusion in sub-Saharan Africa is tuberculosis. There are, however, limited resources available for making a definitive diagnosis of tuberculous pericarditis. The diagnosis is largely based on clinical criteria. There is a risk of misdiagnosing less-common causes of large fibrinous pericardial effusions. We present a patient who had a pericar...

Background: Aspiration of coelomic fluids from coelomic cavities is a simple and relatively, non-invasive technique to achieve a diagnosis. Pleural effusion, pericardial effusion and peritoneal effusion are commonly encountered problem by general physicians and chest physician. Effusion often present as a common diagnostic dilemma as no cause can be found in many cases inspite of careful evalua...

BACKGROUND We hypothesized, after seeing several suggestive clinical examples, that a process leading to a large bilateral pleural effusion in the presence of an otherwise insignificant pericardial effusion could result in right ventricular diastolic collapse (RVDC) as seen by two-dimensional echocardiography. This noninvasive marker for hemodynamically significant cardiac tamponade occurs when...

The aim of this study is to report a rare case of massive pericardial effusion as initial manifestation of hypothyroidism. A previously healthy 21-year-old female patient suddenly began presenting dyspnea at rest and lower limb edema. Routine laboratory tests performed at admission showed hypothyroidism (TSH 146.14 mUI/L) and echocardiography showed significant pericardial effusion. Therapy was...

THE COMBINATION of two physical signs, increasing venous pressure and palpable decrease in arterial systolic and pulse pressure with inspiration in constrictive pericarditis was pointed out by Kussmaul.1 Wood2 alluded to these signs as evidence for pericardial effusion and attributed the rise in venous pressure to an inspiratory rise in intrapericardial pressure. Dock3 subscribed to this view, ...

Kaposi sarcoma (KS) is a low-grade angioproliferative tumor associated with infection with human herpes virus 8 (HHV-8). The disease was named after Moritz Kaposi, a Hungarian dermatologist who first described it in 1872 as 'idiopathic multiple pigmented sarcoma of the skin.' HHV-8 infection is required for the development of KS, but not all infected persons develop the disease. KS is also cons...

BACKGROUND A malignant thoracic tumour often causes malignant pericardial effusion with cardiac tamponade. However, no standard treatment has yet been established. The purpose of this study was to clarify the utility of performing video-assisted thoracoscopic (VATS) pericardiectomy in patients presenting malignant pericardial effusion. PATIENTS AND METHODS VATS pericardiectomy was performed f...

AIMS Tuberculosis is a common cause of pericardial effusion in many parts of the world often presenting with tamponade. Its recognition is important but not always easy. This study was to prospectively compare the features of tuberculous with chronic idiopathic pericardial effusion. METHODOLOGY We studied 47 patients with large pericardial effusions or tamponade. All had pericardiocentesis an...

Pleuropericardial effusion is an extremely rare complication of gemcitabine chemotherapy. The patient was a 56-year-old woman administered systemic chemotherapy with gemcitabine for local recurrence of pancreatic cancer and lymph node metastasis developing 4 years after pancreaticoduodenectomy. Four months after the start of the chemotherapy, she presented with exertional dyspnea and edema in b...