HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Wu, M. Articles by Yang, G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Wu, M. Articles by Yang, G. Related Collections Pericardium

Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2006;29:422-424
© 2006 Elsevier Science NL

Case report

Spontaneous tension hydropneumopericardium complicating serofibrinous pericarditis

^a Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, 2nd Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310009, PR China
^b Department of Radiology, 2nd Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310009, PR China

Received 8 November 2005; accepted 7 December 2005.

^_* Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 571 87783860 (O)/86881852 (R); fax: +86 571 87022776. (Email: cjr.ygzh{at}vip.163.com).

A hydropneumopericardium is a rare but critical condition, which is mostly ascribed to primary infiltrative lesions from adjacent organs, pericardial infections, or trauma. Although there have been reports about pyopneumopericardium, no case of spontaneous non-purulent hydropneumopericardium has been documented in literature. We report a case of a previously healthy man of spontaneously occurred tension hydropneumopericardium complicating serofibrinous pericarditis. A surgical exploration followed by partial pericardiectomy was performed to stop cardiac tamponade and possible later constriction. Remarkably, no definite pathogenesis was identified despite surgical and laboratory investigations. The spontaneity and management of hydropneumopericardium are discussed.

Key Words: Hydropneumopericardium • Pericarditis • Cardiac tamponade