ABSTRACT
Cardiac tamponade is a medical emergency and must be managed promptly, and reaching a diagnosis is imperative to prevent recurrence. Herein, we present a case of a young female patient that presented with progressive shortness of breath and abdominal distension and was found to have cardiac tamponade with the finding of elevation of a blood tumor marker, CA-125, in the setting of nonadherence to thyroid replacement therapy. She was managed by surgical pericardial window and abdominal paracentesis, with replacement of thyroid hormones leading to resolution of the tamponade and ascites. CA-125 elevation associated with cardiac tamponade and myxedema ascites due to hypothyroidism is very rare, and we aim to shed light on the importance of having a broad differential when approaching cardiac tamponade and understand the association between CA-125 and hypothyroidism.
ABSTRACT
We present a case of transfusion-related acute lung injury as a complication of convalescent plasma transfusion in a patient who presented with COVID-19-related severe acute respiratory syndrome. Despite treatment with tocilizumab, remdesivir, and intravenous steroids, worsening dyspnea prompted adjunctive treatment with convalescent plasma. Two hours after completion of the plasma transfusion, the patient developed hypoxia-induced cardiac arrest secondary to transfusion-related acute lung injury. This case sheds light on life-threatening transfusion reactions and emphasizes the need to investigate post-transfusion monitoring protocols as well as the possible role of surveillance equipment.