ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Tuberculous pericarditis (TP) remains a challenge for endemic countries. In developing countries, one to two percent of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis develops TP. CASE SUMMARY: A 49-year-old woman presented with dyspnea, chest pain and dry cough. On physical examination, veiled heart sounds were found. The electrocardiogram showed low-voltage complexes and the transthoracic echocardiography revealed a large and free-looking pericardial effusion. The patient was taken for an open pericardiotomy. The pericardial fluid revealed high levels of adenosine deaminase and Ziehl-Neelsen stain showed acid-fast bacilli. Polymerase chain reaction study for Mycobacterium tuberculosis in pericardial fluid was positive. The patient received tetra conjugate management with adequate clinical response after the first week of treatment and resolution of fever and chest pain. CONCLUSION: In cases of TP, obtaining pericardial fluid and/or pericardial biopsy is the most efficient strategy to confirm the diagnosis. Early diagnosis of this entity will allow physicians to initiate timely treatment, avoid complications and improve the patient's clinical outcome, so we consider the description of this case pertinent and its review in the literature.
ABSTRACT
The pandemic of SARSCov2 infection has created a challenge in health services worldwide. Some scales have been applied to evaluate the risk of intubation, such as the ROX and HACOR. The objective of this study is to compare the predictive capacity of the HACOR scale and the ROX index and define the optimal cut-off points. Study of diagnostic tests based on a retrospective cohort. Composite outcome was the proportion of patients that needed endotracheal intubation (ETI) or died of COVID19 pneumonia. Discrimination capacity was compared by the area under the curve of each of the two scales and the optimal cut-off point was determined using the Liu method. 245 patients were included, of which 140 (57%) required ETI and 152 (62%) had the composite end result of high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) failure. The discrimination capacity was similar for the two scales with an area under receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.71 and 0.72 for the HACOR scale for the ROX index, respectively. The optimal cut-off point for the ROX index was 5.6 (sensitivity 62% specificity 65%), while the optimal cut-off point for the HACOR scale was 5.5 (sensitivity 66% specificity 65%). The HACOR scale and the ROX index have a moderate predictive capacity to predict failures to the HFNC strategy. They can be used in conjunction with other clinical variables to define which patients may require invasive mechanical ventilation.
