Tuberculous Pericardial Abscess: A Case Report

We present the case of a 71-year-old diabetic man who came to us complaining of dyspnea for 1 month. Chest X-ray showed cardiomegaly and bilateral pleural effusion. Echocardiography showed a pericardial cystic mass with external compression of the right ventricle. Because of clinically impending car...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Kaohsiung journal of medical sciences 2005-07, Vol.21 (7), p.322-325
Main Authors: Lin, Tsung-Hsien, Huang, Chih-Hsin, Sheu, Sheng-Hsiung, Chiu, Chaw-Chi, Tsai, Kun-Bow
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abscess - complications
Aged
Cardiac Tamponade - etiology
caseous necrosis
Humans
Male
Mediastinal Cyst - complications
mediastinum mass
pericardial abscess
pericardium
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis - complications
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Summary:We present the case of a 71-year-old diabetic man who came to us complaining of dyspnea for 1 month. Chest X-ray showed cardiomegaly and bilateral pleural effusion. Echocardiography showed a pericardial cystic mass with external compression of the right ventricle. Because of clinically impending cardiac tamponade, we performed urgent sternotomy and removed the pericardial mass without event. Pathologic examination of the excised pericardial specimen showed caseous necrosis compatible with tuberculosis infection. The patient was put on a 1-year treatment regimen of anti-tuberculosis medication. This case is an important reminder that tuberculosis can occur as a pericardial abscess.
ISSN:1607-551X
2410-8650
DOI:10.1016/S1607-551X(09)70128-7