COVID-19-Induced Cardiac Tamponade: A Case Study and a Literature Review

COVID-19 presentation is heterogeneous. As a viral illness, it could cause pericardial effusion leading to cardiac tamponade. We present a patient coursing with this viral illness that was found to have cardiac tamponade. We report a case of a 79-year-old female who presented with shortness of breat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCurēus (Palo Alto, CA) Vol. 15; no. 7
Main Authors Mishra, Rishabh, Jain, Swati, Shaban, Mohammed, Acosta, Giancarlo, Rodriguez Guerra, Miguel A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Palo Alto Cureus Inc 25.07.2023
Cureus
Subjects
Autoimmune diseases
Cardiology
Case reports
COVID-19
Internal Medicine
Patients
Pericardium
Steroids
Ultrasonic imaging
Viruses
United States > US
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Summary:COVID-19 presentation is heterogeneous. As a viral illness, it could cause pericardial effusion leading to cardiac tamponade. We present a patient coursing with this viral illness that was found to have cardiac tamponade. We report a case of a 79-year-old female who presented with shortness of breath and dry cough for one week and resulted positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Her initial chest X-ray showed a bottle-shaped heart. Computed chest tomography showed pericardial effusion, and an echocardiogram confirmed moderated pericardial effusion with signs of tamponade. He improved with conservative therapy with colchicine, ibuprofen, cefepime, dexamethasone, dolutegravir, and apixaban for pulmonary emboli. An early approach in cardiac tamponade induced by COVID-19 is crucial to promptly address an aggressive directed therapy, avoiding potential complications or unnecessary procedures.
ISSN:2168-8184
2168-8184
DOI:10.7759/cureus.42427