[Unknown etiology cardiac tamponade. Could some characteristics of the disease define higher probability of specific etiologies?]

Abstract

Introduction: Cardiac tamponade without definite cause (one of the forms of primary pericardial disease), always puts the clinician on the alert for the possibility of a specific etiology of disease.

Patients and methods: The objectives of this prospective study on 50 patients with primary pericardial disease and cardiac tamponade have been to establish the real incidence of specific etiologies in our environment, as well as the principal clinical manifestations of these patients. All patients were evaluated through an exhaustive diagnostic protocol (including non-invasive diagnostic tests, analysis of the pericardial fluid and in some cases pericardial biopsy) for the search of a specific cardiac tamponade etiology.

Results: In our experience it has been most frequent to find a definite etiology in a slightly superior proportion (54%), without differences among the idiopathic and specific forms of cardiac tamponade with regard to the most relevant clinical manifestations, including the aspect and amount of the pericardial fluid and the recurrences of cardiac tamponade.

Conclusions: The disease has no clinical manifestations that establish its etiology: this justifies in-depth etiological research in this group of patients.