Abstract :
Pericardial diseases vary from mild to severe manifestations, yet only small numbers of patient get diagnosed and treated accordingly. The objective of this report is to highlight the clinical findings, treatment, and evaluations of pericardial effusion with emergency cardiac tamponade. 19 yo male came to the emergency with severe chronic shortness of breath accompanied with chest pain that had been lasted for 3 months without known past illnesses. Patient also reported productive cough, mild fever, decreasing body weight, and close contact with a positive tuberculosis patient. The patient was dyspneic, hypotensive, increasing jugular vein, and muffled heart sound. Based on clinical manifestations, findings of cardiomegaly with suspected specific process on chest x-ray, and pericardial effusion with decreasing systolic function on echocardiography, a diagnosis of massive pericardial effusion with cardiac tamponade was concluded. Pericardiocentesis was done immediately for this patient and clinical improvement was observed soon after the procedure, a catheter was left in pericardial space to monitor fluid drainage. In the course of treatment, the patient was given ibuprofen and colchicine. After several examinations and supported with clinical signs and symptoms, tuberculosis was suspected as the initial cause of the pericardial effusion. Patient treated with tuberculosis regiment category 1 and monitored for treatment response. Emergency situations of patient require quick, accurate, and comprehensive clinical examinations in order for physicians to give immediate diagnosis and administer prompt treatment. Any evaluation to look for the underlying cause of the disease is necessary to prevent worsening and recurrency.
