Pericardial Effusion: The Daily PANCE Blueprint

The answer is D. Echocardiogram

Pericardial effusion is an accumulation of fluid in the pericardial sac surrounding the heart. Etiologies include infectious (viral, bacterial, fungal), autoimmune (lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren’s, etc), cancer, trauma, post-myocardial infarction (Dressler syndrome), thyroid disease, drug-induced, or idiopathic. Clinical features include chest pain (often worsens with laying flat and improves with sitting forward), shortness of breath, and possibly signs of tamponade physiology if the effusion is large enough. Transthoracic echocardiography or transesophageal echocardiography is the diagnostic modality of choice. If the effusion is small, no intervention is really necessary other than managing the underlying disorder. Large effusions require pericardiocentesis.