Invasive aspergillosis presenting as pericarditis and cardiac tamponade

Abstract

A 38-year-old leukemic patient developed pericarditis and cardiac tamponade due to Aspergillus niger one month after undergoing bone marrow transplantation. She failed to improve even though amphotericin B and rifampin therapy had been initiated before infection was evident. Her unique case illustrates both the unusual presentations of invasive aspergillosis and the difficulty of diagnosing and treating this increasingly common disease.