• Hiromi Shimojo, Takashi Nishiue, Satoshi Yamamoto, Fusakazu Jo, Shinya Nishizawa, Yasuo Takayama, and Toshiji Iwasaka.
• The Second Department of Medicine, Kansai Medical University, Osaka.
• J Cardiol. 2004 Jul 1; 44 (1): 27-31.

AbstractA 29-year-old man developed diabetes mellitus in 1983 and diabetic nephropathy which gradually worsened from 1998. He was admitted to our hospital for initiation of peritoneal dialysis in May 2002. However, the efficiency of dialysis was not sufficient to improve elevated levels of blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine. His body weight and cardiothoracic index by chest roentgenography gradually increased starting 9 days after admission. To improve the efficiency of dialysis, we tried to increase the dialysis fluid. Nevertheless, the efficiency of peritoneal dialysis remained low, and the patient complained of nausea 14 days after admission. Hypotension suddenly occurred 16 days after admission. Echocardiography showed massive pericardial effusion and collapse of the right ventricle. The diagnosis was cardiac tamponade. We performed cardiac centesis and pericardial drainage which revealed bloody pericardial effusion. Urgent hemodialysis was performed. The differential diagnosis of cardiac tamponade was established. After hemodialysis, the amount of pericardial effusion decreased, the gastro-intestinal symptoms disappeared, and the blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine levels decreased. We speculated that the cause of cardiac tamponade was uremic pericarditis after ruling out infectious disease, collagen disease, malignant disease, and aortic dissection. Cardiac tamponade due to uremic pericarditis has become very rare since hemodialysis was developed.

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