Cardiac tamponade as a first manifestation of possible systemic lupus erythematosus in a 3-year-old female child.

Cardiac manifestations of pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) usually occur as an initial manifestation of the disease or within six months after the diagnosis of SLE. Pericarditis is the most frequent cardiac manifestation of SLE, but pericardial effusion causing tamponade, which has a very serious prognosis, rarely occurs, and it is even less frequent for the pericardial tamponade to be the presenting feature of SLE. In the present case which is the youngest case in the literature we report a 3 year old girl who presented to the emergency room with solely pericardial effusion causing tamponade, bilateral pleural effusion and diagnosed "possible SLE" based on American College of Rheumatology criteria.