A Rare Case of Purulent Pericardial TB

Abstract

Pericardial effusion is a common disease and tuberculosis (TB) accounts up to 4% of acute pericarditis with up to 7% of tamponade case. Accurate diagnosis is important while quick intervention can be life-saving. A case was reported involving a 73-year-old man who presented with reduced effort tolerance for one-month duration. During hospitalization, further workup revealed the presence of massive purulent pericardial effusion with evidence of tamponade. TB gene expert was positive in aspirated pericardial fluid and the patient was treated promptly using a combination of anti-TB drugs with the addition of steroid therapy.

Partial pericardiectomy for refractory acute tuberculous pericarditis: A case report

“…Despite the fact that effective treatments exist, tuberculosis remains a public health problem, especially in developing countries. In 2017, there were an estimated 10 million new cases and 1.6 million deaths from tuberculosis [4] . Pericardial involvement caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis , as occurred in our patient, is rare in immunocompetent patients, happening in only 5 % of extrapulmonary tuberculosis [2] .…”

“…It is an acute and fulminant disease that requires rapid treatment given the high mortality rate [3] . Only 3 % of pericardial effusions caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis manifest as purulent pericarditis [4] . In this article, we present a rare case of purulent pericarditis caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis in which a surgical partial pericardiectomy was performed as part of the treatment.…”

Shorter antitubercular therapy for extrapulmonary tuberculosis - a case report

“…The prevalence of extrapulmonary tuberculosis is noteworthy and constitutes 15–20% of all tuberculosis cases in HIV-negative patients and 40–50% of new tuberculosis cases in HIV-positive individuals [ 2 ]. Although pericardial involvement is more prevalent than myocardial involvement, cardiac tuberculosis is extremely rare, affecting approximately 1–2% of tuberculosis patients [ 3 , 4 ]. This can lead to medical emergencies such as pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade, which require immediate diagnosis and treatment.…”