Tag Archives: tamponade

Case presentation A 45-year-old man presented to the emergency department with a 10-day history of feeling unwell, non-exertional chest tightness, shortness of breath and reduced exercise tolerance. He found no relief with sublingual glyceryl trinitrate and complained of a productive, green cough. A COVID-19 nasopharyngeal assay prior to admission was negative for SARS-CoV-2. Past medical history included type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension and stable angina. There was no significant history of tobacco, alcohol or illicit substance use. On examination the patient was haemodynamically stable with positive findings of quiet heart sounds and

Case report A 76-year-old diabetic male presented with a three-day history of central chest pain and breathlessness. Liver ultrasound performed two months previously due to abnormal liver function tests had shown two cysts but no action was taken. On examination, he looked unwell with a raised venous pressure. Computed tomography (CT) scan showed a 2 cm pericardial effusion and a large multi-locular cyst 12 cm x 9 cm arising from the left lobe of the liver and extending to the base of the heart (figure 1). Figure 1. Computed tomography (CT) scan showing the hepatic abscess and pericardial effusion Half-an-hour later, the patient went into tam