Large pericardial effusion in a woman in the second trimester of pregnancy: a case report.

Background: Pericardial effusion is common in pregnancy, with causes similar to the general population. Usually, it is found in the third trimester and disappears spontaneously after labour; however, there is a risk of progression to tamponade. Management is based on expert opinion, since few studies have been published. Case summary: A woman with enlargement of a known, chronic, presumably idiopathic pericardial effusion, in the 17th gestation week, presented with mild dyspnoea, without specific echocardiographic signs of cardiac tamponade. She received double antithrombotic treatment with aspirin 100 mg, started before conception, and a prophylactic dose of tinzaparin 4500 IU, started at the beginning of the pregnancy due to obstetrical antiphospholipid syndrome. A multidisciplinary team consisting of the treating obstetrician-gynaecologist, haematologist, cardiothoracic surgeon, and cardiologist discussed the management, taking into account the large size of the effusion and the significant increase during pregnancy, the possibility of further increase during the third trimester, the antiplatelet and antithrombotic treatment, which increased the haemorrhagic risk, and the difficulty and risk to intervene later in pregnancy. A surgical pericardial window was proposed to the patient and family and was performed uneventfully. Discussion: This case demonstrates the importance of a multidisciplinary team approach and shared decision-making in the management of these complex cardio-obstetric patients in order to achieve optimal therapeutic results.

In-Hospital versus Out-of-Hospital Pulmonary Embolism: Clinical Characteristics, Biochemical Markers and Echocardiographic Indices.

BACKGROUND: A significant proportion of pulmonary embolisms (PEs) occurs in patients during hospitalisation for another reason. However, limited data regarding differences between out-of-hospital PE (OHPE) and in-hospital PE (IHPE) is available. We aimed to compare these groups regarding their clinical characteristics, biochemical markers, and echocardiographic indices. METHODS: This was a prospective, single-arm, single-centre study. Adult consecutive patients with non-COVID-related PE from September 2019 to March 2022 were included and followed up for 12 months. RESULTS: The study included 180 (84 women) patients, with 89 (49.4%) suffering from IHPE. IHPE patients were older, they more often had cancer, were diagnosed earlier after the onset of symptoms, they had less frequent pain and higher values of high sensitivity troponin I and brain natriuretic peptide levels compared to OHPE patients. Echocardiographic right ventricular (RV) dysfunction was detected in similar proportions in the 2 groups. IHPE had increased in-hospital mortality (14.6% vs. 3.3%, p = 0.008) and similar post-discharge to 12-month mortality with OHPE patients. CONCLUSIONS: In this prospective cohort study, IHPE differed from OHPE patients regarding age, comorbidities, symptoms, and levels of biomarkers associated with RV dysfunction. IHPE patients had higher in-hospital mortality compared to OHPE patients and a similar risk of death after discharge.