A Case of POEMS Syndrome that Presented with a Moderate Pericardial Effusion / 대한내과학회지

ABSTRACT

Pericardial effusions can be caused by a wide variety of infectious or noninfectious diseases. After a conventional diagnostic work-up, the etiology of pericardial effusion often remains idiopathic. We report a patient with POEMS syndrome whose main clinical problem was recurrent pericardial effusions. Patients with POEMS syndrome often have generalized edema and a pleural effusion, while a pericardial effusion is a very rare complication. A 44-year-old man visited our hospital because of a recurrent pericardial effusion. He was initially diagnosed with idiopathic pericarditis five months prior. We reassessed the patient meticulously and found IgG lambda type monoclonal gammopathy, polyneuropathy, lymphadenopathy, peripheral edema, pleural effusion, hypothyroidism, pulmonary hypertension, hyperpigmentation, hypertrichosis, and papilledema, which we diagnosed as POEMS syndrome.