Management of cardiac tamponade due to contrast nephropathy: A case report

Pericardial effusion secondary to contrast nephropathy is a very rare clinical condition. Patients have a volume load increase secondary to acute renal failure. In such a case, the progression of pericardial effusion with tamponade may follow a very rapid course contrary to what is believed. In this case, a 78-year-old male patient with diabetes mellitus and hypertension was admitted to the emergency department with complaints of decreased urine output, nausea, and vomiting. The patient was diagnosed with acute renal failure secondary to contrast nephropathy. Pericardial effusion amount was found to be 2 cm by thorax tomography. As the patient who had no urine output when his vital signs were stable became unstable during dialysis preparation and manifested clinical symptoms of cardiac tamponade, immediate pericardiocentesis was performed. Following that, he became stable and was transferred to the intensive care unit. In current guidelines regarding indications for pericardiocentesis, it is stated that drainage should be performed when the amount of effusion is more than 2 cm in the absence of tamponade, suspected bacterial infection or neoplastic etiology. However, in contrast to the standard approach to patients with acute renal failure, our suggestion is that the indications for pericardiocentesis may be broader in the presence of pericardial effusion.