Complicated Iatrogenic Pneumopericardium in a Patient With Suspected Multiple Myeloma

Abstract

Pneumopericardium is the presence of air within the pericardial cavity. Though several etiologies and pathological mechanisms for this have been described, there is no clear consensus. Most resolve spontaneously, but others may develop severe complications such as cardiac tamponade which may lead to cardiorespiratory arrest. We report a rare case of a patient who developed a tension pneumopericardium requiring emergent aspiration following a therapeutic pericardiocentesis. Radiological and echocardiographic findings of this rare iatrogenic pneumopericardium are reviewed.

Iatrogenic pneumopericardium after therapeutic pericardiocentesis for pericardial effusion: a case report

“…The difference in the results of the two CT reports before and after pericardial puncture suggests that pneumopericardium occurred during or after therapeutic pericardiocentesis. In recent years, iatrogenic pneumopericardium has been reported in a few studies, [6][7][8][9][10][11] mainly related to various clinical invasive procedures such as thoracentesis, [10] pericardiocentesis, [11] pacemaker implantation [12] and radical resection of gastric and esophageal cancer. [13] The occurrence can be attributed to either direct pleural-pericardial connection or air leakage to the pericardial drainage system.…”