Taponamiento cardiaco por efusión pericárdica secundario a masa en atrio derecho en canino criollo de 10 años: reporte de caso.

Abstract

Pericardial effusion is mentioned as the presence of fluid accumulation in the pericardial cavity as a trigger for cardiac tamponade, which limits the filling of the cardiac chambers and after this, symptoms derived from this condition were evident. Below, a clinical case is described where a canine patient, female, 10 years old, was presented to the Dogs & Cats Veterinary Clinic, without a current vaccination or deworming plan. The patient was admitted with marked symptoms, including dyspnea, abdominal distention, exercise intolerance, and panting. The physical examination revealed an alert state, barely audible heart sounds, hyperthermia, pain on abdominal palpation, tachypnea, weak pulse, pink mucous membranes, non-reactive lymph nodes, slight nasal discharge, epiphora, and capillary refill time of 2 seconds. Complementary tests were performed in which the following alterations were evident: the hemoleukogram showed neutrophilia, monocytosis, low hemoglobin and regenerative anemia, the biochemical profile showed blood urea nitrogen (BUM), slightly increased total proteins and globulins, the radiographic projections and ultrasonography showed ascites, cardiomegaly, and pleural effusion, the electrocardiogram showed cardiac microvoltage, the echocardiogram revealed an accumulation of pericardial fluid associated with a mass in the right atrium that suggested possible cardiac tamponade. Cardiac tamponade with pericardial effusion secondary to a mass in the right atrium was proposed as a presumptive diagnosis. It was considered that the neoplastic mass generated the pericardial effusion. For this case, in-hospital pharmacological treatment was instituted, with which a favorable clinical evolution was achieved and the patient was discharged with outpatient treatment that included Pimobendan® for life and Furosemide® for a long time. The patient responded favorably to the treatment and maintained a good quality of life; however, she died 6 months later.