• Hiroaki Taniguchi, Mayuko Kaneko, Nobuaki Kiriu, and Tetsuro Kiyozumi.
• Department of Traumatology and Critical Care Medicine, National Defense Medical College, Saitama, Japan.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2023 Aug 4; 102 (31): e34410e34410.

RationaleCardiac tamponade, a condition in which the heart is compressed by pericardial fluid retention, is easy to diagnose; however, identifying the cause may be challenging since it can be caused by a variety of conditions, including trauma and pericardial disease.Patient ConcernsA 22-year-old man was admitted to the intensive care unit with respiratory failure. He had previously received allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for acute myeloid leukemia and developed chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGvHD) that was treated with a corticosteroid. At this time, he developed bilateral femur head necrosis and underwent surgery after discontinuation of the corticosteroid but developed respiratory failure postoperatively. The initial diagnosis was cardiac failure, which temporarily improved with treatment; however, eosinophilia and pericardial effusions became prominent.DiagnosesPericardial effusion gradually progressed, resulting in cardiac tamponade.InterventionsPericardiocentesis was performed. Eosinophilia could be the cause of cardiac tamponade; thus, corticosteroid was administered.OutcomesPericardial effusion improved remarkably after corticosteroid administration. The corticosteroid dose was gradually tapered, and the patient was discharged.LessonsThis case presented with cardiac tamponade associated with eosinophilia, probably owing to graft-versus-host disease. This is an unusual condition associated with a history of hematologic neoplasms; although evaluation is challenging, appropriate assessment could help save the patient's life.Copyright © 2023 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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