Detecting Cardiac Tamponade In Patient With Large Effusion Secondary To Mediastinal Mass
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
2:18pm – 2:25pm
Location: 412
Authors: Malia Tarpley, Baylor Scott and White Medical Center- Temple, TX Matthew Lohse, Baylor Scott & White Health-Temple Campus
The detection of pericardial effusion and, more importantly, cardiac tamponade was one of the earliest applications adopted and popularized within the point-of-care ultrasound movement, and for good reason. It is a time-sensitive diagnosis with major clinical impact on treatment for both trauma and medical patients. Many POCUS practitioners are familiar with the common echocardiographic findings present in tamponade, such as IVC plethora, right ventricular diastolic and right atrial systolic collapse. These findings are not universally present, and may be unrecognizable when the usual cardiac windows are distorted or compressed by a large mediastinal mass, as in the case we present. Instead, a less commonly discussed finding may be assessed: dynamic interventricular septal shifting, which illustrates the pathophysiology of interventricular dependence associated with tamponade.