A.3. What are the common etiologies of cardiac tamponade?

A.3. What are the common etiologies of cardiac tamponade?
Answer:

Common causes of increased intrapericardial pressure include blood, exudate, transudate, and air (Table 12.3). In the United States, the most common cause of pericardial effusions complicated by cardiac tamponade is malignancy, followed by iatrogenic from interventional cardiologic procedures and surgical cardiotomy.

Table 12.3: Causes of Cardiac Tamponade

Category	Differential Diagnoses
Blood	Iatrogenic/postcardiotomy Trauma Aortic dissection Anticoagulation
Exudate	Locoregional inflammation Infectious: viral, bacterial, tuberculous Postmyocardial infarction Dressler syndrome Systemic inflammation Systemic lupus erythematosus Rheumatoid arthritis Sarcoidosis Malignancy
Transudate	Congestive heart failure Uremia Hypothyroidism Radiation Pulmonary hypertension Hypoalbuminemia
Air	Iatrogenic/postsurgical Trauma Mechanical ventilation

References

Adler Y, Charron P, Imazio M, et al. 2015 ESC guidelines for the diagnosis and management of pericardial diseases: the Task Force for the Diagnosis and Management of Pericardial Diseases of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) endorsed by: the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS). Eur Heart J. 2015;36:2921-2964.
Imazio M, De Ferrari GM. Cardiac tamponade: an educational review. Eur Heart J Acute Cardiovasc Care. 2021;10:102-109.
Lazaros G, Vlachopoulos C, Lazarou E, Tsioufis K. New approaches to management of pericardial effusions. Curr Cardiol Rep. 2021;23:106.
Spodick DH. Pathophysiology of cardiac tamponade. Chest. 1998;113:1372-1378.

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