Polymicrobial Purulent Pericarditis From a Pancreatico-Pericardial Fistula

Christopher Richardson; Mark Cromer; Luis Tatem; Raymond Wade; Derek Russell

doi:10.1016/j.jaccas.2024.102288

Polymicrobial Purulent Pericarditis From a Pancreatico-Pericardial Fistula

JACC Case Rep. 2024 Mar 5;29(7):102288. doi: 10.1016/j.jaccas.2024.102288. eCollection 2024 Apr 3.

Authors

Christopher Richardson¹, Mark Cromer², Luis Tatem¹, Raymond Wade¹, Derek Russell¹

Affiliations

¹ Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, & Critical Care Medicine, School of Medicine, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
² Division of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA.

Abstract

A 54-year-old male with chronic pancreatitis presented with dyspnea. Computed tomography scans demonstrated a subdiaphragmatic fluid collection with pericardial fistulization. Pericardial fluid cultures were polymicrobial in nature. Purulent pericarditis is rare but carries a high mortality rate. We present the first documented case of pancreatico-pericardial fistulization causing purulent pericarditis.

Keywords: computed tomography; imaging; pancreatic pseudocyst; pancreatitis; pericardial effusion; pericarditis; tamponade; thoracic.