Cardiac tamponade as the first presentation of thymoma: A case report during COVID-19 pandemic

We report a case of neoplastic cardiac tamponade, a life-threatening condition, as the initial presentation of an anterior mediastinal malignancy. A 69-year-old gentleman with no known history of malignancy presented to the emergency department with shortness of breath, reduced effort tolerance and chronic cough. Clinically, he was not in distress but tachycardic. He was subjected to echocardiography which revealed large pericardial effusion with tamponade effect. Pericardiocentesis drained 1.5 L of haemoserous fluid. CECT thorax, abdomen and pelvis revealed an anterior mediastinal mass with intrathoracic extension complicated with mass effect onto the right atrium and mediastinal vessels. Ultrasound-guided biopsy histopathology examination revealed thymoma. Due to locally advanced disease, tumour resection was not possible, and patient was referred to oncology team for chemoradiotherapy. We report this case study not only due to the rarity of the case but also to highlight its diagnostic challenge due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Copyright © The Author(s) 2022.

[Patient with Good's syndrome and COVID-19. Report of a clinical case]

Background: The consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with primary (now called "inborn errors of immunity") or secondary immunodeficiencies is still a matter of debate. There are few reports in the literature of patients with Good's syndrome and SARS-CoV-2 infection with variable outcomes. Clinical case: A 51-year-old male with diagnosis of Good's syndrome treated with intravenous human immunoglobulin (IVIG) at a replacement dose with application every 21 days and prophylaxis for P. jirovecii with trimethoprim/ sulfamethoxazole due to profound lymphopenia at expense of T CD4+ lymphocytes who presented initially mild disease (RT-PCR+) that progressed to pneumonia with acute respiratory failure and required advanced airway management and admission to the ICU with a fatal outcome due to superinfection after 14 days hospitalized. Conclusion: It has been documented in patients with humoral immunodeficiencies a better prognosis for developing less intense cytokine release syndrome. The alteration in cellular immunity, especially lymphopenia at the expense of CD4+ T lymphocytes, may be associated with a worse prognosis as the response against viruses is compromised as well as high susceptibility to superinfection by opportunistic agents such as P. aeruginosa and Mucor sp. For this reason, we must maintain close surveillance in patients with inborn errors of immunity with cellular defects, as is the case of patients with Good's syndrome who present with COVID-19.