• Syed Hasan Raza Abidi, Monica Botros, Mostafa Abohelwa, and James Felberg.
• Department of Hospital Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at Lubbock, Texas, United States.
• Am. J. Med. Sci. 2023 Jan 1; 365 (1): 109113109-113.

AbstractPyo-pericardium is a collection of purulent fluid in the pericardial sac. It is a rare finding seen in less than 1% of patients who develop acute pericarditis. The condition, though uncommon, has a mortality risk of 100% in untreated patients and 40% in treated patients. Most of the reported cases in the literature describe the occurrence of pyo-pericardium in IV drug users that's secondary to needle fragment embolization to the pericardium diagnosed through an echocardiogram and CT scan with no evidence of bacteremia. Unlike reported cases, we present a case of pyo-pericardium in a 37-year-old woman with bacteremia from a wound infection on her leg secondary to IV drug use. Needle embolization was ruled out in our case as no foreign object was identified on echocardiography or CT scan. Prompt identification followed by aggressive treatment with pericardial window and systemic antibiotics is crucial for decreasing mortality in such high-risk patients.Copyright © 2022 Southern Society for Clinical Investigation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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