Cardiac tamponade complicating trimodal therapy for malignant mesothelioma

Heart & Lung. 2006 Sep-Oct;35(5):355-7. [Link]

Sawar A, Schocken DD.

Division of Cardiovascular Disease, Department of Internal Medicine, University of South Florida College of Medicine, Tampa, Florida.

Abstract

Trimodal therapy, which includes extrapleural pneumonectomy as the cytoreductive procedure followed by combination chemoradiotherapy, is becoming the standard of care in the treatment of malignant mesothelioma. We report here a case of hypotension secondary to tension hydrothorax in which echocardiography and hemodynamic monitoring demonstrated evidence of tamponade physiology. Thoracentesis was lifesaving.