Beyond Beck's Triad: A Rare Cause of Cardiac Tamponade and Hemoptysis

Iatrogenic Pneumopericardium in a Male Full-Term Newborn with Spontaneous Pneumothorax

Neonatal pneumopericardium, a collection of air in the pericardial sac, is less common form of air leak syndrome, but unfortunately with high mortality rate. We report a rare case of male fullterm newborn who soon after birth presented with respiratory distress. Chest radiograph showed spontaneous bilateral pneumothorax after which a chest drain was placed between anterior and midaxillary line in the 5th right intercostal space. The infant soon presented with tachypnea, dyspnea, muffled heart sounds, acidosis indicating cardiorespiratory worsening. On chest radiograph ‘’Halo” sign appeared indicating pneumopericardium. We believe that spontaneous reposition of a chest drain damaged the pericardial sac which combined with ventilation mechanism (‘’Macklin effect”) most likely led to pneumopericardium. After partial chest drain extraction the infant showed signs of improvement, but had to be closely monitored due to risk of tension pneumopericardium. Careful thoracal drain placement and fixation is crucial to prevent iatrogenic pneumopericardium, which can lead to deadly tension pneumopericardium.

An Innovative Approach to the Diagnosis of Cardiac Angiosarcoma

We present a case of a 32-year-old female presenting with shortness of breath and increasing oxygen requirements. Further imaging discovered a large mass extending circumferentially into the pericardium, cardiac wall, and chambers, involving the anterior and middle mediastinum. Direct tissue biopsy of the mass for a diagnosis was unsafe. Therefore, advanced flow cytometric analysis for tumor marker expression of the malignant effusion was used to differentiate the mass as a vascular sarcoma, consistent with cardiac angiosarcoma. Additionally, cytometric analysis for programmed cell death protein 1 (PD1), programmed death-ligand 1 (PDL1), and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA4) was also performed; a study seldom investigated for angiosarcomas but may have advantages over immunohistochemical analysis.

Cardiac Tamponade: An Unusual Cause of a Severe Headache with Normal Blood Pressure

Cardiac tamponade is a life-threatening condition characterized by slow or rapid compression of the heart due to the accumulation of fluid in the pericardial space and rarely presents mainly as a headache. We report an unusual presentation of cardiac tamponade associated mainly with severe headache over three days and mild shortness of breath in a 60-year-old male not known to have any previous heart disease. Immediate computed tomography (CT) scan of the head ruled out intracranial hemorrhage. A chest x-ray showed cardiomegaly, and further echocardiography revealed a large pericardial effusion on a transthoracic echocardiogram compromising the right ventricular output. Urgent pericardiocentesis was performed and removed 800 ml of hemorrhagic fluid that led to a complete resolution of his severe headache.