Key result
Unexplained recurrent pericardial effusion in a 37-year-old man served as a lethal warning for cardiac angiosarcoma, which was diagnosed only postmortem after fatal cardiac rupture.
Case Report (n=1)
A high index of suspicion for cardiac angiosarcoma is recommended in patients presenting with unexplained recurrent pericardial effusion due to its grave prognosis and difficulty in early diagnosis.
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Unexplained recurrent pericardial effusion may signal cardiac angiosarcoma; this case leaves open earlier diagnostic protocols.
A case of a 37 year old man with cardiac angiosarcoma causing recurrent pericardial effusion, who eventually died of cardiac rupture, is presented. The diagnosis was not established until the postmortem examination despite echocardiography, pericardiocentesis, and pericardial biopsy investigations. There is neither a specific manifestation that enables early recognition nor well proven effective treatment against this disease. Accordingly, the prognosis of cardiac angiosarcoma remains grave. A high index of suspicion is recommended in patients who present with unexplained pericardial effusion.
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Chi‐Ho Lee (2003) conducted a case report in Cardiac angiosarcoma with recurrent pericardial effusion (n=1). Unexplained recurrent pericardial effusion was evaluated on Clinical outcome and diagnosis. Unexplained recurrent pericardial effusion in a 37-year-old man served as a lethal warning for cardiac angiosarcoma, which was diagnosed only postmortem after fatal cardiac rupture.
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