Cardiac tamponade in pregnancy during the treatment of severe pre-eclampsia: report of a case.

We present a case of cardiac tamponade that occurred during the course of treatment for severe pre-eclampsia. A 37-year-old woman who underwent cesarean section for severe pre-eclampsia developed cardiac tamponade after delivery. While percutaneous pericardiocentesis temporarily improved her condition, pericardial effusion, dyspnea and tachycardia reappeared 5 days after delivery. A continuous drainage tube placed in the pericardial cavity for 5 days was required to maintain maternal cardiac function. Her clinical course was uneventful after continuous drainage and she was discharged 20 days after delivery. No such causes of symptomatic pericardial effusion were detected in the present case. Physicians should be aware of this complication when dyspnea is accompanied by tachycardia and enlargement of the cardiac silhouette with hypolucent lungs on chest X-ray. Immediate pericardiocentesis is also required to prevent life-threatening cardiac tamponade in such cases.