STUDY OBJECTIVES The decrease in incidence of tuberculosis, along with the increase in invasive cardiovascular procedures, may have changed the frequency of causes of bloody pericardial effusion associated with cardiac tamponade, although this is not yet recognized by medical textbooks. We analyzed the causes of bloody pericardial effusion in the clinical setting of cardiac tamponade in the 199...

An experimental model was designed to study the ability of antibiotics to enter the pericardial compartment. Noninfected and infected pericardial fluid and serum antibiotic activities were determined in adult mongrel dogs before and at intervals after antibiotic administration. After the administration of penicillin G, methicillin, cephaloridine, streptomycin, or gentamicin, clinically adequate...

Two patients who had a huge pericardial effusion of at least 9 and 14 years' duration caused by cardiac toxoplasmosis are reported. Toxoplasma gondii were seen in the pericardial fluid, and serologic evidence also demonstrated the activity of the infection. These cases illustrate both the need to exclude toxoplasmosis in chronic pericardial effusion of unknown cause and the possibility of seein...

Majority of pericardial calcifications in the tropics are claimed to be of tuberculous origin. Other known causes include among other things uraemia, asbestosis, and post traumatic/post operative. We report a case of pericardial calcification not associated with constrictive pericarditis seen in a patient with established leprosy. Although a direct causal relationship cannot be established betw...

this is a case presentation of a 26-year-old woman with a moderate-sized atrial septal secundum defect (17mm) who underwent catheterism, during which an amplatzer septal occluder number 26 was inserted successfully. on the second postoperative day, she deteriorated and a clinical examination showed a typical tamponade. after a percutaneous aspiration of the pericardial cavity and transient impr...

Despite its value in the diagnosis of pericardial disease, two-dimensional echocardiography also is known to produce confounding results. Ten patients had juxtacardiac masses simulating pericardial tumor implants on echocardiographic examination(”pericardial pseudotumor”) caused by juxtacardiac pulmonary atelectasis or lobar collapse. The atelectatic nature of these masses was based on echocard...

Pericardial pressure was measured in 18 patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass for up to 10 days using a solid state transducer. Mean and phasic pericardial pressure wave forms were similar to those reported in animals. A wide range of mean pressure from 0 to 30 mmHg was recorded, and values of up to 20 mmHg were observed in patients whose postoperative clinical course was uncomplicated. Fl...

Hypothyroidism is a rare cause of pericardial effusion (PE). Pericardial effusion secondary to hypothyroidism remains a diagnostic challenge for clinicians because of its inconsistency between symptoms and amount of pericardial effusion. We report an atypical case that presented with ascites and was diagnosed to have cardiac tamponade secondary to primary hypothyroidism. Besides repeated perica...

Results Subxiphoid pericardial drainage and right thoracic pleural drainage were performed under local anesthesia. Pericardial serous fluid of 400 ml was drained. The right pleural serous fluid of 500 ml was drained. A subxiphoid pericardial and right thoracic drainage tube were inserted during surgery and removed after 4 days. No microorganism was cultivated from pericardial and pleural fluids...

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...