Pyopneumopericardium

Pyopneumopericardium is a condition in which pus and air accumulate in the pericardial cavity. This is a dangerous complication that occurs with penetrating chest wounds, heart surgery, and also with certain diseases (tuberculosis, lung cancer).

The presence of pus and air in the pericardium leads to compression of the heart and disruption of its function. Clinically, pyopneumopericardium is manifested by chest pain, shortness of breath, tachycardia, and hypotension.

Diagnosis is based on radiography and ECG. Treatment consists of urgent drainage and sanitation of the pericardial cavity, as well as the prescription of antibiotics. With timely treatment, the prognosis is favorable.

Pericardial pseudocyst (pseudopericardial cyst or cystic pneumopericardial syndrome/PPS)

Pericardial pseudocysts can be found in the posterior mediastinum throughout the body. About 30% of patients have no symptoms. Patients with asymptomatic pseudocysts are usually asymptomatic and incidental.

The appearance of the classic symptom of chest pain in a person, as a rule, indicates that pseudocysts occupy a significant space in the pericardium - about one third of its volume, and also exert significant pressure on the diaphragm and neighboring organs.

The majority of patients with PPS are people of working age. Women predominate among them (the ratio to men is 4:1). Depending on the predominant symptoms, 3 clinical groups of patients can be distinguished: * “Silent” patients - with a latent, asymptomatic course of PPS. Most often these are elderly and senile people, when the duration of the disease is years or decades. They are characterized by diffuse symptoms from the cardiovascular, digestive and respiratory systems. Right ventricular heart failure may be present, but it is asymptomatic (with slight increases in blood pressure, tachycardia);