Derrame pericárdico como forma de debut del lupus eritematoso sistémico / Pericardial effusion as a debut form of systemic lupus erythematosus

Introducción: El lupus eritematoso sistémico tiene múltiples formas de presentarse; entre las manifestaciones cardíacas, es frecuente la afectación pericárdica, pero es poco frecuente que su forma de debut sea el derrame pericárdico. Objetivo: Destacar la importancia del diagnóstico precoz de una de las formas menos frecuentes de debut del lupus eritamatoso sistémico. Caso clínico: Se presenta el caso de una paciente de 50 años, que ingresó porque desde hacía 3 meses sufría dolor torácico, disnea, tos, síntomas articulares, dermatológicos y generales. Luego de la sospecha y el estudio clínico, hematológico, imagenológico y biopsia de piel, se diagnosticó precozmente derrame pericárdico por lupus eritematoso sistémico. Se impuso tratamiento oportuno con esteroides, y la evolución fue favorable. Conclusiones: A pesar del bajo índice de sospecha, se tuvo en cuenta al lupus eritematoso sistémico y se procedió a las determinaciones analíticas que confirmaron el diagnóstico(AU)

Introduction: Systemic lupus erythematosus has multiple ways of presentation; among cardiac manifestations, pericardial involvement is frequent, but it is rare that its debut form is the pericardial effusion. Objective: To emphasize the importance of early diagnosis of one of the less frequent forms of systemic lupus erythematosus. Clinical case: We present the case of a 50-year-old patient, who had been admitted for 3 months because of chest pain, dyspnea, cough, joint, dermatological and general symptoms. After the suspicion and the clinical, hematological, imaging and skin biopsy, pericardial effusion was diagnosed early due to systemic lupus erythematosus. Timely treatment with steroids was imposed, and the evolution was favorable. Conclusions: Despite the low index of suspicion, the systemic lupus erythematosus was taken into account and the analytical determinations that confirmed the diagnosis were made(AU)

N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide as a marker of disease severity in patients with pericardial effusions

BACKGROUND/AIMS: N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) has recently been introduced as a useful marker in diagnosing underlying disease in patients with dyspnea and for determining the prognosis of patients with heart failure. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the value of the NT-proBNP as a marker of disease severity in patients with pericardial effusions. METHODS: We enrolled 69 consecutive patients who showed moderate or large pericardial effusion with preserved left ventricular (LV) systolic function; 42 patients finally participated in the study, and 13 (31.0%) of them showed cardiac tamponade. We analyzed the etiologies, the clinical and echocardiographic variables, and the serum NT-proBNP levels in these patients. RESULTS: The mean NT-proBNP level was 751+/-1002 ng/L (range 5 to 5289), and the median level was 385 ng/L (interquartile range 152 to 844). The NT-proBNP levels were higher in those patients with jugular venous distension (p=0.002), pulsus paradoxus (p=0.016), heart rate > or =100/min (p=0.006), cardiac tamponade (p=0.001), large pericardial effusion (p=0.029), exaggerated respiratory variation of the transmitral inflow (p=0.006), or plethora of the inferior vena cava (p=0.01). The NT-proBNP levels showed significant correlation with heart rate (r=0.517, p<0.001) and the diameter of the inferior vena cava (r=0.329, p=0.03). CONCLUSIONS: NT-proBNP may be useful as a marker of disease severity in patients suffering from pericardial effusion, but further prospective studies with more patients will be needed.