Drainage of pleural effusions in the course of unrecognised constrictive pericarditis: a cause of severe haemodynamic deterioration

Abstract

Constrictive pericarditis (CP) is a rare disease which can be easily overlooked in the absence of typical pericardial calcification. One of its most frequent manifestations is pleural effusion. We present a case report of a patient with unrecognised CP in whom plerocentesis led to haemodynamic collapse, and we speculate about the potential pathomechanism. No obvious criterion of CP or severe systolic dysfunction was found in baseline echocardiography. We consider that patients with advanced CP are remarkably prone to haemodynamic decompensation secondary to pleural drain.